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Iberia to Colombia

From Chez Kalder to my sister-in-law's in Valle del Cauca was a tiring (and predictably very expensive) 25 hours. We flew Iberia. And Air France it ain't.

On the flight from London to Madrid, no tea nor coffee nor anything much at all was served. If you did want some species of breakfast you had to pay for it. It was like Ryanair at British Airways prices. So you're on an expensive, cramped transnational flight and the greedy, tight bastards won't even offer you a sandwich and a coffee.

The flight from Madrid to Bogota was, as will come as no surprise, hideously expensive. And for what? Ten hours in an airborne cattle-truck. The food was swill, the staff surly and the inflight entertainment consisted of a made for TV sub-Indiana Jones romp which must have cost all of $200 dollars to shoot, a dreary drama about a Spanish futbol team and an even drearier drama about some bearded professor of philosophy agonising about some point of logical positivism or other. Utter arse. How much would it have costv the skinflint tossers to stick on a film that somebody would actually want to watch?

But happy to say, that's all behind me now and I've merrily spent the last couple of days drinking Poker, eating empanadas,swimming, sitting on my arse, soaking up the rays, socialising and marvelling at the unearthly natural beauty that is Valle de Cauca.

By kalder on Jul 29, 2007, 07:42 in Friendly Talkzone.

sweet160 says on Jul 29, 2007, 12:10:

Hi,

this actually interest me, was the plane from Madrid to Bogota an Airbus or a Boeing? It should have been an Airbus and arent those supposed to be more comfortable and roomy?

" its a dog eat dog world, and I will eat your dog! "

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adrimm (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jul 29, 2007, 21:15:

2 flights to Colombia, thats my measure of a good trip there - I'm usually looking at 3 and sometimes 4 each way!

Flight essentials: Bottle of water, Granola bars, tunes, and a couple of good book!

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thur says on Jul 29, 2007, 23:00:

Iberia uses the A340-600 -on ocassion de A340-300- on the Bogotá flight (12.15 departure from MAD, 16.30 arrival in BOG). One can't say that Airbus is more comfortable than Boeing or vice versa, it all depends on the configuration the carrier opted for. Unfortunately Iberia, for example, doesn't offer personal television screens (PTVs) like Air France, but has television LCD monitors that slide out above the middle row of the aircraft. As of January 2008 Iberia will offer 3 additional flights a week to Bogotá (17.00 departure from MAD, 21.15 arrival in BOG), coming to a total of 10 direct MAD-BOG Iberia flights a week.
On European flights Iberia offers Buy On Board...
Greetings,

- pbase.com/thur

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sweet160 says on Jul 30, 2007, 04:54:

I am going on the 12.15 departure from Madrid, do you think there wont be enough legroom, maybe I can choose a seat that is more comfortable? Is that possible?

" its a dog eat dog world, and I will eat your dog! "

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thur says on Jul 30, 2007, 05:05:

Legroom is a standard 32", I took a picture of myself sitting in the A340-600. Keep in mind that a) I put the blanket is in the seatpocket... and b) I'm not that tall (1.70m, 5"7) ->> http://picasaweb.google.com/mailthur/OnBoard2006AMSMADBOGCCSMADAMS/pho...
Greetings,

- pbase.com/thur

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sweet160 says on Jul 30, 2007, 05:22:

Hey Thur, that shows exactly what I can expect. I am 1.80m so it will be quite thight.

bye the way, spreek je Nederlands?

" its a dog eat dog world, and I will eat your dog! "

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jmayuk says on Jul 30, 2007, 08:14:

The first time I flew with Iberia, I flew the same route as you, my London to Madrid flight was VERY delayed and somehow I got bumped up to first class on the Madrid-Bogota leg. I actually found the food passable, a small choice of films and a leather seat. I thought, "What's all the fuss about?" The flights were delayed (all 3 of them - I continued on to Pereira. But technically that was with Avianca...) and the check-in process was overly convoluted, but hey, they bumped me up to first class, right? I soon found out that the joke was on me. On the way back, I tasted the true Iberia experience and decided then and there that I would rather swim to Colombia than EVER fly with Iberia again. The problem isn't so much that you are crammed in and given bad food. But the real issue is that you are actually treated with an almost palpable contempt by the Iberia staff. Honestly, I was treated marginally better than the Colombians (being a "rich" gringo), but even that was rude at best. If you have the bad luck of being Latin American, you are spoken to almost as if you are an animal. Disgraceful. And the tickets were jaw-droppingly expensive to boot.

donde comen dos, se comen tres...

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sweet160 says on Jul 30, 2007, 09:00:

jmayuk,

I am sorry you had such a bad experience, I will see how it goes and report here on my Iberia experience, my tickets are already booked so there is no way to change.

But thanks for the advice ...

" its a dog eat dog world, and I will eat your dog! "

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podborski says on Jul 30, 2007, 09:11:

hope you are enjoying the trip kalder!

(Also hope you are telling any and all attractive single women you come across that you know a very elegible single guy??? I'd be especially interested in any kat or mona look-alikes)

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thur says on Jul 30, 2007, 10:04:

Personally I would prefer Air France: PTVs, better (and more quantity) food and friendlier staff. Too bad Paris CDG can be a pain to transfer at (so you'll need to plan in more time) and Air France is more expensive than Iberia from Amsterdam. The airport of Madrid (Terminal 4) is a breeze to go through, but Iberia cabin crew was downright rude... I'm still at a stage where my wallet has the decisive vote on which airline I'll take. (ja, ik spreek ook Nederlands)
Greetings,

- pbase.com/thur

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kalder says on Jul 30, 2007, 16:46:

Cheers Pod, the tríp is a blast. The attention a gringo gets in this small town would make any man yearn to share your bachelor status. You'd be in clover for Kat-lookalikes, but I'm yet to see a blonde here.

thur, jmayuk, sweet- Iberia crew are shockingly rude. Especially to Latin Americans. I wish the shade of Simon Bolivar would appear and stick his sabre up their arses!

"kalder- have you ever had a woman?"--Sam Salmon

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