The nice thing about flying Iberia was that it made U.S. airlines look good. The Airbus to Madrid had no individual screens in the seats, so everyone (without laptops) was forced to watch the same movie. I had to squeeze my pillow between my left hip and the armrest - and hold it there, without moving - to keep the plug from my earphones in its socket. The food was uninspired and the crew was brusque, verging on unpleasant. No one seemed to be in a good mood.
The crew was better on the two-hour flight to Venice, but they came down the aisle about midway through selling not only food but sodas and juices. (I probably shouldn't write this as it will only give our airlines ideas.) I had to ask two flight attendants for a glass of water before one arrived, begrudgingly and lukewarm. (I complained while deplanning, and was told that this is now the practice of all airlines in Europe.)
Flying home yesterday was a little bit better. For the trans-Atlantic leg I had an aisle seat next to one of the only empty seats on the plane. And, for perhaps the first time in my life, I sat behind a man who didn't believe in reclining. My earphones plug fit in its socket perfectly. The crew was an improvement, if not the food. (You know the cliched rubbery chicken? I would have happily traded my chicken for it.)
But the cabin was freezing; -52 degrees Celsius said the information board, and though I know that was outside, it felt almost as bad inside. Yet, coming around at one point with water and juices, the flight attendants were unable to provide ice cubes. I guess it was enough that the drinks were free. And that we all got to watch Academy award winning actress Sandra Bullock in Blind Side.
But Iberia did do something nifty I'd never seen before: It showed on the screens views of take off and landing taken by a camera attached to the tail. As we lifted off from MIA it looked as if Christ the Redeemer had left his perch atop Corcovado and was now floating, Superman-like, over Miami Beach.
