Introduction

I spend a lovely weekend in Madrid. It’s just such a nice city to be in, especially now that the season has started to turn, making it more pleasant to be outside. In case you’re wondering how I got to Madrid, it was with the same Iberia flight that I took a few months ago ahead of my trip to Australia. I find it rather interesting that the menu was exactly the same as on the previous flight I took.

Getting to the Airport

On Sunday afternoon I exit the hotel and walk the short distance to Atocha railway station. From there I catch a C7 line train of the RENFE Cercanias to Nuevos Ministerios, two stops away. At Nuevos Ministerios I alight and transfer to a line 8 metro train to the airport. There is a Cercanias line from Cha Martin to the airport, but that only serves Terminal 4. The journey from Atocha to the airport takes about 45 minutes.

Check-In

TAP Air Portugal serves Terminal 2 in Madrid. From the metro station I head one floor up. From there I follow the signs for T2 and T3. There’s a long passage that connects the metro station to the terminals. At the end of the passage is a security checkpoint for passengers travelling with hand luggage only, which is very convenient, as it allows you to bypass the crowds at check-in

The AENA Puerta del Sol Lounge

The Puerta del Sol Business Class lounge is situated just around the corner from the exit from security. It’s located one floor up from the public gate area. This is my favourite lounge in Madrid, mainly because of its spectacular views of the ramp and the runway behind it. Initially, the place is very busy. However, shortly after I arrive, Air Europa’s afternoon departures get underway and the place quickly quietens enough for me to grab a seat by the window.

Catering in the lounge is really quite impressive. Even when the lounge is busy, the staff make sure that food and drinks are replenished frequently. Apart from that, the quality and variety of the dishes available is simply outstanding. I have the fish in a creamy saffron sauce, together with a piece of tortilla and tomato pulp and a bowl of the delicious cold bell pepper soup.

Boarding

My flight is running late. The aircraft should have left Lisbon at 14:50, to arrive in Madrid at 17:10. However, by 16:50 the aircraft still hasn’t even left Lisbon. Eventually, the inbound arrives in Madrid at 18:30, and the departure screen indicates that we’ll be departing at 19:15. I very much doubt it…

The gate area is a complete zoo. Supposedly, there’s a separate queue for Business Class passengers. However, as the regular queue is cordoned off, all passengers are queuing in the Business Class lane. It’s at times like this that I really think the Spanish would do themselves a favour by making announcements. But they don’t. As a result, the gate agent ends up turning away half the passenger passengers whose boarding group hasn’t been called yet.

The Cabin & Seat

The flight is completely full this evening. There are four rows of Business Class for a total of 16 seats. The seat has an adjustable headrest and is sufficiently comfortable for a short flight. The seat pitch is good.

The Service & Crew

There are four crew on this flight. Two middle aged gentlemen are serving the Business Class cabin, and they’re great. They’re polite and interact pleasantly with the passengers. There is no service while we’re on the ground. Eventually, by the time we push back it’s 19:30 and we’re running 90 minutes behind schedule. The flight time is 55 minutes.

The Snack

With such a short flight time, the service begins very shortly after take-off. The tray consists of a bowl of fruit and a plate with a bite size cheese and ham canapé and a small fish cake in a mustard sauce.

Arrival in Lisbon

We land in Lisbon and make our way to what feels like the remotest of remote stands in all of Lisbon airport. As soon as the plane stops, Mr. 1C springs up to grab his belongings. Apparently, he has a connection to Geneva. Luckily, when we disembark and he reaches the bottom of the stairs, there’s a guy holding up a sign for Geneva. Passengers for that flight have a direct transfer.

Getting into Lisbon

In Lisbon I’m staying at the Sofitel Liberdade in the centre of town. I catch the red line metro to Sao Sebastiao, the terminus, and then the blue line from there to Avenida. The Sofitel is right next to the metro station’s south exit.

Conclusion

The delay was obviously inconvenient, but these things happen. Overall, there was no disruption to my travel plans. The crew were nice, but the snack was obviously a bit sad. Having said that, the flight time was very short. The boarding process was an unpleasant, uncoordinated mess. Everyone was slightly angry, presumably because of the delay, and there was hardly any room to stow hand luggage when you finally managed to get on the aircraft. Which is no wonder, given the amount of stuff passengers brought into the cabin. The flight with Iberia from Zürich to Madrid was similar. It makes you wonder why it should seemingly be so difficult for the airlines to enforce stricter rules on the amount of hand luggage permitted in the cabin.