Review: Iberia Premium Economy MAD to DFW

Earlier this month, when my family flew back home from Portugal, I had the opportunity to try Iberia Premium Economy seats from MAD (Madrid) to DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth). This flight runs almost 11 hours long, and I was really happy that I was sitting in Premium Economy rather than in regular Economy.

Booking the Flight

This nonstop flight on Iberia from MAD to DFW is a great value. Premium Economy costs 31,750 Avios +$132 on off-peak days:

The price increases to 43,750 Avios on peak days:

If you add a leg to another country in Europe, the price increases by 5000 miles plus ~$13.

In my experience, Iberia only ever releases 2 Business, 2 Premium Economy and 4 Economy award seats for this flight. So, you need to book 11-12 months in advance to snag these seats for this route. You can transfer multiple points currencies to Iberia or British Airways to book this flight (Chase, Amex, Capital One, Bilt, Wells Fargo), and often you can take advantage of transfer bonuses to get an even greater value.

The day we wanted to fly home from spring break was a peak day, so with an extra flight from Lisbon to Madrid tacked on we paid 48,750 Avios +$149.55 in taxes per person. Since there were only 2 award seats available in Premium Economy, my husband and I flew in Premium Economy and our 2 teens sat 2 rows behind us in regular Economy. Note: I will review Business class on this route when I fly it in June.

Airport Experience

We arrived at the Lisbon airport 2 hours before our first flight was scheduled to board, and nobody was even at the Iberia check-in counter yet. But, after 15 minutes or so, 4 agents showed up, and the line moved quickly. There was no separate line for Premium Economy.

The short flight to Madrid was uneventful. We had a few hours to kill in the Madrid airport. Premium Economy passengers do not get lounge access. So, we entered a Priority Pass lounge before our flight (a separate review is coming).

Our flight from Madrid to Dallas was one hour late. However, no passengers were notified of this delay on the app or through the screens at the gate. People started lining up at boarding time, and only after everyone was queued up for 15 minutes a crew member came around and told everyone to sit back down for at least 45 minutes. Our flight was overbooked and had two large student groups. One student group was being split up to other flights due to lack of available seats.

Premium Economy passengers got to board with Group 2 instead of Groups 3-4 with the rest of Economy.

Premium Economy Seats

The aircraft was the Airbus A330-300 with 21 Premium Economy seats laid out in a 2-3-2 configuration. While there was a closed curtain between our cabin and Business, the curtains to Economy section were never closed.

My husband and I sat in the last row of Premium Economy in seats 14J and 14L. I liked that the rows were staggered, so there was nobody sitting immediately to our left.

Our seats were 19 inches wide with 37 inches of pitch. A pillow and blanket were at our seats when we arrived.

Our seats could recline 7 inches, and there was a footrest we could lower. We had a small tray in between our seats for drinks, and our full tray tables popped out from our center armrests.

I appreciated that each seat had a water bottle holder!

This outlet with USB plugs was in between our seats.

Our floor space was so wide that each of us could put our backpacks to the side and use the space beneath the seats in front of us to stretch out our legs. This, combined with a 7-inch recline, made the seats comfortable for sleeping. My husband actually slept for a few hours, which he almost never does on flights.

Overall, our seats were spacious and comfortable, especially when we compared them to our kids’ seats in Economy just a few rows back:

There were no bathrooms in Premium Economy, but we used the 4 bathrooms in the middle of the Economy section.

IFE, Food and Service

Just before takeoff, the flight attendants handed out amenity kids that included socks, sleep mask, ear plugs, toothbrush and toothpaste.

We also received noise-cancelling headphones. It’s a bit daunting to see a 10 hour and 46 minute timer on the IFE screen at the beginning of the flight. Ugh, that’s long!

However, there were lots of newer movies and TV shows to watch. Plus, I played a few games like Solitaire and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Before the flight took off, we were offered water and juice in Premium Economy. That was a nice touch, since I didn’t even get that in Business class on my previous TAP Air Portugal flight.

For our first meal, the choices were beef or pasta. We both chose beef, which was a hamburger patty with vegetables, potatoes, roll, and couscous. Dessert was chocolate mousse. To be honest, the meal was actually pretty good!

A few hours later, we were served some tapas:

The box contained olives, hard breadsticks and a cheese dip. Surprisingly tasty.

Throughout the flight, the flight attendants came around multiple times offering water, coffee/tea and other drinks.

Our last meal was a sandwich and kit-kat bar.

We had the choice of vegetarian or chicken. We both said chicken, but somehow I got the vegetarian sandwich, which was egg salad. It was actually one of the best egg salad sandwiches I’ve ever had.

Overall Thoughts

This nonstop flight between Madrid and Dallas was long. But, I’m very thankful that my husband and I got to sit in Premium Economy. The seats appeared much more spacious and comfortable than regular Economy (sorry, kids! Your younger bodies can handle those seats better). I enjoyed the service, food and IFE choices.

For us, paying the extra miles for Premium Economy was worth it. I don’t need the luxury and lie-flat seats of Business class all the time. But, having just a few more inches of space in Premium Economy sure made the 11-hour flight more bearable. I hope we can score some Premium Economy award seats for our trip to Japan next year!