BOSTON – Welcome to Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS). This afternoon, I’m returning to Madrid Barajas (MAD) with Iberia’s A321XLR and onwards to London Heathrow (LHR).
Iberia is the launch buyer of the next-generation Airbus A321XLR, being the primary airline on the planet to function transoceanic routes with the single-aisle plane. Able to flying an Xtra Lengthy Vary of as much as 4,700nm, the plane combines long-haul experiences with short-haul economics, defining a brand new period within the aviation trade.
IB at the moment flies to 2 US locations with its flagship XLR, together with Boston and Washington Dulles (IAD). The airline serves Boston twice every day; flight IB347 to BOS departs MAD at 1230, and flight IB345 at 1740. IB serves Washington as much as seven occasions weekly as IB361 departing MAD at 1150, with its frequency altering seasonally.
Airport Expertise
Situated on the East Coast of the US, Boston Logan is among the nation’s busiest airports. Serving over 100 home and worldwide locations, BOS is New England’s gateway to journey and enterprise worldwide.
I arrived at BOS a bit over two hours earlier than departure, and headed to Iberia’s devoted check-in space at Terminal E. All airways function from one in every of 4 passenger terminals: A, B, C and E, with the latter primarily dealing with worldwide flights.
Iberia has a number of check-in counters for its enterprise class and economic system class prospects, effectively dealing with effectively over 200 passengers on our flight. With no checked baggage and a boarding go in hand, I headed straight to safety, the place I had a quick passport verify. The TSA operates all safety checkpoints, and my first experiences have been optimistic, being airside inside minutes.
I explored the comparatively small duty-free space earlier than my consideration turned to the large glass home windows, providing very good views of the ramp. After a fast stroll to a close-by gate, I discovered myself releasing my interior avgeek, having fun with varied plane actions throughout the airport.
A well-recognized sight quickly got here into view with its vibrant, eye-catching striped colors, none apart from Germany’s vacation airline, Condor (DE). The A330neo in its putting ‘Blue Sea’ livery pulled into stand, finishing its 8-hour flight from Frankfurt Airport (FRA). Different plane famous across the apron included a number of Delta (DL) widebodies, an Emirates (EK) Boeing 777 and an Air France (AF) Airbus A350 parked at a distant stand.
Welcome Aboard
This afternoon, we’re flying onboard Iberia’s second A321XLR, registered EC-OLE. Our flight IB348 departs from gate E9, and I discovered myself a quiet spot by the window overlooking the ramp for but extra viewing pleasure of plane.
Boarding commenced round thirty minutes earlier than departure, and boarding teams have been enforced as commonplace. I used to be warmly welcomed onboard by the cabin crew and located my seat for the subsequent 6 hours, 30F.
My first impression of the economic system cabin was optimistic, and I started by familiarizing myself with the cabin. Offered to all passengers at their seat included a blanket and a pillow, as anticipated from a long-haul economic system flight.
IB’s economic system class accommodates 168 prospects in a typical 3-3 seating configuration. Options embrace a six-way adjustable headrest, 4-inch recline, and a typical literature pocket with two extra compartments. In entrance of me, a private 12-inch 4K in-flight leisure display, with a USB-A and USB-C port and headphone jack beneath.
Overhead was a typical panel for air-con, lighting, and a crew-call button. The perimeters of the cabin have been lit with Iberia’s vibrant purple temper lighting, setting the scene for the flight forward of us.
Taxi, Takeoff
Proper on schedule, pushback occurred on time at 1630, and we began our engines thereafter. Taxiing to our departure runway 9, we handed varied main worldwide airways, together with Virgin Atlantic (VS), Swiss (LX) and Etihad Airways (EY). I additionally observed the XLR’s older sibling, the A321LR, of Aer Lingus (EI) and Faucet Portugal (TP), parked at their respective gates.
Lining up for departure on the southernmost runway, a easy takeoff adopted, with nice views of Boston Harbour beneath. We shortly left the mainland behind us and set course in direction of Madrid, with what could be a comparatively fast night time throughout the Atlantic Ocean forward.
In-Flight Service
As normal, the service started with drinks, providing a collection of smooth drinks, juices, and water. Complimentary alcoholic drinks have been additionally obtainable, together with white wine, crimson wine, and beer. I opted for a refreshing lemonade and a glass of water.
The meal service arrived shortly after, providing a selection of both meat or vegetarian choices. I selected the rooster ragout dish, which at first I had second ideas about, however it was passable. Alongside the principle was a small salad, crackers, a raspberry and white chocolate cake and a bottle of water. As an additional, the crew handed out cookies, which I saved for later, given the shortage of area on my tray desk. Earlier than wrapping up the service, the crew got here for any closing requests and supplied us tea or espresso.
The scale of the meal was considerably smaller compared to different long-haul flights; nonetheless, for a brief in a single day flight, this was acceptable. One aspect I discovered welcome was using steel cutlery as a substitute of wood cutlery, which another airways go for. This enhanced the economic system expertise, because it didn’t go away a woody aftertaste throughout every chunk of the meal.
Throughout Cruise
Following the in-flight service, I sat again and relaxed, having fun with the sundown at FL330 with the Earth’s shadow superbly forged onto the ambiance. Earlier on, I linked my headset to the IFE with ease and continued watching Moana 2, my selection of night leisure.
One aspect of the IFE I appreciated was the choice to manage your film with the contact of a button beneath the display. These controls included pausing and both rewinding or fast-forwarding 30 seconds. Different options discovered included quantity buttons, a crew name button, an overhead gentle swap, and an influence button. The WiFi image within the nook of the display indicated robust connectivity, and it stayed on all through the flight.
Airbus’ House-Flex Galley
With round 4 hours of flight time remaining, I made a decision to go to the House-Flex galley behind the plane. This can be a rear galley and toilet association discovered on the Airbus A320 household, which IB have opted for on their XLRs to maximise seating capability. Compromising between galley area and the amenities presents its challenges, together with restricted area for the crew to work.
Three of 4 bathrooms are discovered right here, with two adjoining to the galley. This considerably creates a squeeze for the crew throughout meal preparation, whereas passengers crowd round to make use of the amenities. Because the ratio of passengers to bathrooms is comparatively excessive, there would usually be a queue behind.
A slight flaw for the single-aisle plane, as this barely slows down the in-flight service; nonetheless, that is made up by the crew’s professionalism. An attention-grabbing comment the crew identified was that every toilet deal with has its distinctive design, with one cabin leap seat constructed into the door.
By way of the night time
Whereas many of the cabin was both asleep or immersing themselves in Iberia’s IFE, I discovered myself chatting away to the crew. Within the nook of the galley, bottles of water and cups have been obtainable for passengers to take, and I puzzled the place the snacks could be, if any.
The crew pulled out a tray containing candy pastry snacks and biscuits, of which I took one in every of every. M&M’s chocolate cookies, which the crew handed out in the course of the meal service, have been additionally obtainable. Naturally, I took one, and I loved an extra late night snack.
Virtually an hour handed, and I used to be beginning to really feel the consequences of flying by the night time. As a substitute of strolling again by the cabin and disturbing my neighbours to get to my seat, the crew kindly advised I chill out within the final row of the plane.
On longer flights, these would often be crew relaxation seats; nonetheless, the fast 6-hour flight didn’t necessitate deliberate crew breaks.
Two Hours to Go
A stable 20 minutes of napping later and a couple of hours till our arrival in Madrid, the second and closing in-flight service began. I opted for a refreshing peppermint tea, simply as I did on my inbound into Boston. With out having a selection, the crew handed out roast beef and mozzarella sandwiches, with Package Kats alongside. So far as pre-landing snacks went, this tasted good, and I may have simply had one other. Having had a take a look at the web menu, a pepper and spinach sandwich must also have been obtainable.
For the rest of the flight, I had the pilot’s HUD displayed on the IFE. Provided that it was nonetheless very early hours and darkish exterior, this was a pleasant characteristic to have on the display.
Arrival
At precisely half-hour forward of schedule, we touched down on Madrid’s 32R at 5.10 am, arriving on stand moments after. Iberia’s beautiful purple temper lighting lit up the cabin, and we began to slowly disembark the XLR.
Twice in as many flights into MAD, we had a distant stand, a draw back should you could be planning a flight deck go to, as time could be restricted. For an avgeek although, there may be absolutely nothing higher than being seeing your plane up shut on the ramp. Naturally, I visited the flight deck (briefly) to provide my appreciation to the crew and fast ideas about my experiences on the XLR.
I headed out by door L1 into the recent morning air, having one closing take a look at the world’s latest single-aisle plane that flew us throughout the Atlantic Ocean.
Conclusions
The subsequent-generation A321XLR is a refreshing addition to your normal wide-body plane on long-haul flights. It appeared barely unusual at first flying lengthy haul on a single-aisle plane, however I shortly settled onboard and loved the journey all through.
A relaxed ambiance was offered by the upgraded Airspace cabin, with snug seating, high-quality IFE, distinctive ambient temper lighting, and nice connectivity providers. As normal, the Iberia crew demonstrated professionalism of their service, which enhanced the general expertise.
The catering scenario could not have been as robust in comparison with the inbound flight, however it was acceptable, given the timing and size of our journey. Flying onboard Iberia’s flagship A321XLR was a pleasure, and I might fly this plane long-haul once more.
Upcoming deliveries of the XLR to Iberia not solely reinforce the airline’s robust widebody fleet but in addition result in a extra environment friendly and sustainable future. The incorporation of latest locations provides to IB’s rising community, growing the capability of current routes and connecting Spain to the world.
