Hello, IFC!
In case you hadn’t noticed (which you probably didn’t), I was absent for 2 weeks apart from short moments. That is because I was in Spain for a camp with UWC (lmk if you’ve heard of them, I’m curious).
Anyways, here is the return flight!
Aircraft: A320NEO
Airline - Iberia (OneWorld)
Route - MAD-ORY
Server - IRL
I got out of the bus and after getting used to the AC, got slapped in the face by the 43° outside.
I slapped on my mask and hauled my luggage inside and started the lengthy admin process.
Jk.
MAD is insane. There were ~50 people in front of me but in 3 minutes and 27 seconds I got my luggage tagged and gone and in another 5 minutes and 13 seconds I got through security. That’s a record for me.
I walked to the terminal and waited for my plane to show up on the gate map. I bought an overpriced coke and scrolled through Reddit like a true ‘Murican.
Also the restaurant was called Rodilla lol 🦵
Then, I saw the flight appear. It was a 12 year old A321-200 that was dirty and used. It pulled up to the gate and did the usual clean up ritual. After exhausting all the hot posts in r/AskReddit, I looked back up at the map and saw my gate was changed to another one on the other side of the terminal.
The A321 had a technical issue and was unusable.
Ouch.
I had 4 minutes before boarding and I had to skidaddle across terminal 4 (I think it’s the biggest one in MAD btw)
I finally showed up to the new gate after walking a solid 78 kilometers.
Well well well what do we have here 👀
I started boarding almost instantly and got to my seat. 8A.
Haha lol virgin plane lol haha im so funny 🙃
Actually it wasn’t my seat, it was 8 people’s seat. Somehow the system allowed 8 people to book the same seat. After menacing the others with a baguette, I remained victorious while the others were moved to other seats.
Just kidding. I brought up the fact that I had paid extra to have a window seat and was allowed to keep it. Even if you are traveling alone, don’t be afraid to tell people if you think something is wrong or unfair. People make mistakes. In this case they did not check if I had paid for seat selection or not. It was not a small mistake but had I not brought it up I would have been in 24D. Just be kind and understanding and things will go well.
I sat down and measured the leg room.
Hmph.
Although the seat was comfortable, the leg room was left to be desired and for someone my height that kinda sucks. It’s alright though, with a cheap ticket and a window seat on a NEO I was not one to complain.
After 45 minutes at the gate, we pushed back and drove around the airport. Wheeeee!!!
I was disappointed at how small the LEMD tower is. It’s tiny.
On the other hand I saw an A340-600 for the first time in years so yay 😁
After an awesome parallel takeoff with an Air Europa 737, I snapped this pic for you ❤️
The flight was rather uneventful. In fact it was really uneventful.
I would have told you about the inflight meal but since water cost 5 euros and I’m not a foolish Jeb Brooks that buys things on planes, I have no meal to talk about.
Halfway above France, our plane said hello to another one and we raced for 20 minutes.
(We won)
After a very bumpy approach into Paris Orly, we touched down relatively smoothly and taxied to the Spain terminal that’s not actually called that but since it hosts Iberia and Vueling yknow 🤷♂️
And then I asked to visit the cockpit and got a “No” and a push in the back. Noice.
I had to part with the airplane and say my goodbyes.
Overall this was a very nice flight. Below are the ratings:
Timing: ⭐️⭐️ (50 minutes late)
Aircraft: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Comfort: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Legroom: ⭐️
Staff: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you for reading!
See you on the IFC, I’ll be more active now.
Robertine