Is Iberia’s A321XLR Business Class Worth It? My Mediocre Experience

I was very excited for my recent flight on Iberia’s Airbus A321XLR from Madrid (MAD) to Boston (BOS). Unfortunately, the flight didn’t live up to the hype.

To be honest, I don’t think it would even live up to a situation where it hadn’t been hyped up. I found it mediocre in nearly every respect. From broken items on a new plane to an uncomfortable bed and oddities with the entertainment system, this was far from a premium experience on Iberia’s flagship route using the airline industry’s latest craze, the A321XLR plane.

There were some positives to the flight, but they failed to stand out against the sea of mediocrity. Here are several reasons why I say that.

Booking Iberia Business Class

The easiest way to book Iberia business class is to use Iberia’s own rewards program, Club Iberia Plus. The reason it’s the easiest is that Iberia makes more seats available to members using its program than you’d find trying to use points and miles from partner airlines like American Airlines or British Airways.

Iberia uses Avios as its points currency. Several other airlines also use Avios, including Finnair, British Airways, and Qatar Airways. That means you can move Avios from your accounts at these other airlines to get them into your Iberia account and easily book a business class ticket. Iberia serves several cities in the U.S., and the number of Avios you need for a business class award reservation depends on the distance.

I booked this flight several months ago when the price was just 34,000 Avios for the ticket, though a devaluation earlier this year increased the number of Avios needed.

Now, you’d pay 40,500 Avios for off-peak dates flying between Boston and Madrid. On peak dates, you’d pay 59,000 Avios. Taxes and fees on these awards cost $160.33.

Hot Tip:

Earning Iberia Avios for redemption is relatively easy, thanks to the abundance of options. You can even earn Avios from daily spending on the Iberia Visa Signature^® Card, available from Chase in the U.S.

Quick Overview of Iberia’s A321XLR

Iberia received its first A321XLR plane in late 2024 and announced Boston (BOS) as the first U.S. destination to be served by this new aircraft. The route started flying in November 2024.

The reason airlines are so excited about the A321XLR is that the XLR means “extra long range.” Typically, airlines have flown wide-body jets, such as the Boeing 777 or Airbus A350, on transatlantic routes, which feature 2 aisles and several hundred seats.

Obviously, these large planes weigh more and consume more fuel, so operating them for a few passengers doesn’t make sense. That limits where airlines can fly.

Enter the narrow-body A321XLR, which features a single aisle, fewer seats, and lower operating costs. It still has a decent flight range and can service longer routes that won’t sell enough tickets to justify a bigger plane.

JetBlue, Etihad, Qantas, American Airlines, and others are scrambling to get these planes into service. Since they’re smaller than the typical planes with lie-flat seats, some airlines are getting creative as they imagine what seats to put into these aircraft. Others are simply making minor adjustments and incorporating what customers are already accustomed to.

8 Reasons Iberia’s A321XLR Business Class Is Mediocre

I simply wasn’t impressed with my business class flight across the Atlantic with Iberia. From equipment issues to strange decisions made by management for this plane, elements of this flight made it feel decidedly nonpremium. And I’m not even counting the decision to have grape-scented lotion as the sole amenity in the bathroom.

1. Broken Stuff

When flying a plane that’s just 1 year old, you expect things to work properly. That wasn’t the case during my flight.

Shortly before the aircraft door closed, the crew announced that the Wi-Fi wouldn’t work during our flight because it was broken — and had been for a while.

I received several emails in the days leading up to my flight, informing me that Wi-Fi would be available during the flight. Onboard materials, such as the packaging around my bedding and the welcome screen for the entertainment system, touted the availability of Wi-Fi.

Not having Wi-Fi isn’t the main issue. It’s the fact that it had been broken for a while, and yet the airline was still aggressively advertising this feature. If Iberia wants everyone to know it offers Wi-Fi on long-haul flights, it should actually work.

Another item that needed fixing: my seatbelt. More correctly, the shoulder harness had issues. This should retract and get tight against my body, but it didn’t. Good thing we didn’t have an accident where this would have needed to protect me.

Lastly, the outlets at my seat didn’t work — none of the 3. There was a universal outlet, a USB-A, and a USB-C port. All of these were dead.

2. Uncomfortable Lie-Flat Seat

The seat itself was OK — nothing to write home about and not the most spacious of suites, but it was OK. In the lie-flat position, though, the bed wasn’t comfortable.

Even factoring in the mattress pad, I still found the bed hard to an uncomfortable level. Moreover, when I lay the bed all the way flat, the foot portion and head portion actually went down past 90 degrees, meaning they were below the center support bar. Thus, the highest point of the bed was a bar pushing into my lower back. It required some adjustment of the settings to lift my head and make the bed go from “wow, that’s uncomfortable” to “this isn’t great” — the more comfortable setting.

The pillow was the type that instantly sinks into nothingness the moment you put your head on it, just in case you were wondering. The blanket was good, though.

3. Oddly Warm Cabin Temperature

Many airlines put the air conditioning on full blast and freeze their customers throughout the flight. While I commend Iberia for not doing that, the cabin was uncomfortably warm throughout the flight.

I took off my sweatshirt and shoes to adjust to the temperature. I witnessed multiple passengers taking off their jackets (and some even their socks) while others kicked off the blanket when trying to sleep.

4. Strange Playlists

Don’t get me wrong: I like discovering new music to listen to. However, I didn’t recognize the music in any of the playlists I checked during my flight — even playlists for genres of music I love.

The headbanging playlist didn’t have any bands I think of for hard rock. And listening to some of the songs, I was not banging my head at all. It was soft rock. Then there was the punk rock playlist that confusingly turned into techno music a few songs into the playlist.

On the albums tab within music, most of the albums were either Christmas music or live performances recorded by the BBC. I listened to music from my phone instead.

5. Finicky Entertainment Remote

I gave up on this remote after repeatedly selecting menu options I wasn’t trying to click on. The remote had both a track pad and buttons for navigation, and I found it impossible to use either without bumping the other — meaning I was clicking on things I didn’t intend to and starting movies I didn’t want to watch.

Luckily, the entertainment system was also touch screen, so I was able to discard the remote.

6. Brutally Loud Announcements

The section header tells you everything you need to know about this issue. The announcements from flight attendants and from the cockpit were incredibly loud, whether I had my headphones on or just heard them through the overhead speakers. This needs a change, badly.

7. Poor Cleaning

Imagine my surprise when I lay down the bed and found dirty tissues and a wadded-up blanket, clearly left behind from a previous passenger. These were discarded between the seat and the shell around it, and clearly no one checked in there while preparing our flight for departure. The blanket … OK, but the dirty tissues were gross.

8. Lack of Laptop Storage

There were several storage spaces around my seat, including a deep cubby with a lid and a nice spot on the floor for holding my shoes. My 14-inch laptop, unfortunately, didn’t fit in any of these.

There Were Some Positives, Though

Not everything was bad or mediocre. I’d like to share a few things I enjoyed about my business class flight on Iberia’s A321XLR.

1. Beautiful Cabin

I liked the cabin’s layout and palette. It used earth tones throughout, including beige fabric for the seats.

The design of the cabin felt inviting, and the wood touches on the tray table and counter surface were attractive.

2. Friendly Service

From boarding to leaving the plane nearly 9 hours later, the staff were friendly. They smiled and were helpful and warm. I liked them. They also did a good job keeping the restroom clean.

3. Bluetooth Capabilities

It was possible to connect my own headphones to the entertainment system via Bluetooth. Headphones were provided for passengers in business class, but I liked being able to use my own for music and movies.

4. Abundant Movie Choices

Though I was confused by the music offerings during the flight, the movies were a different story. There were many to choose from, covering multiple categories that should help everyone find something they like.

5. Honored My Special Meal

Many airlines struggle to fulfill special meal requests, even in this modern era. Iberia had my vegan meal on board, so I appreciated that.

One of the flight attendants kept trying to give me cheese, ice cream, and even a plate of ham during the flight, but at least the main meal was done correctly, and I didn’t go hungry.

My meal included a vegetable paella, an inventive lentil dish, fruits, and 2 different rolls.

The standard menu for our flight had multiple options for each course, including veal, sea bream, and ricotta. There was also a good selection of drinks and wines.

Hot Tip:

Flight attendants also circulated with chocolates and Magnum ice cream bars during the flight, and a help-yourself snack basket was available in the front galley for business passengers.

Final Thoughts

I was pretty excited for this flight, given the price I paid in Avios and the newness of the plane I was flying. This is Iberia’s flagship route now, and I was eager to check out the Spanish carrier’s A321XLR business class.

However, even if I hadn’t been excited for the flight, I think I still would have found the flight average at best. The lie-flat seat wasn’t comfortable, some of the amenity and product choices were strange, and cleaning left something to be desired.

Sure, there were some positive elements. I won’t pretend there weren’t.

Given the incredible deal using points to book business class flights between Europe and the U.S., I can’t say I’ll never fly Iberia again. However, if you gave me my choice of any business class option for a transatlantic flight, this wouldn’t be anywhere near the top.