Photo Report: Air Europa UX92 JFK-MAD 3/15

**Iberia A340-600** · 2010-03-19, 03:12 PM

On my most recent trip to Spain, which I am currently still on, I had the opportunity to fly Air Europa long-haul on their A330-200. I have flown Air Europa in the past on a few inter-Spain flights and to Morocco on the 737-800 and last summer on their new E-195 from Gatwick to Madrid. Having had decent experiences on my past flights I was expecting the same and looking forward to trying their long-haul product, the only Spanish airline to offer PTVs.

I booked tickets a month prior to departure for the low cost of $515 per person. I was originally hoping to be able to fly the Air France A380 via CDG but the fares were way too high.

March 15, 2010
Air Europa UX92
JFK, Terminal 4
MAD, Terminal 1
Airbus A330-200 EC-JQG
Seats: 30 HGF

Flight Summary

Aircraft – I was lucky enough to get the last exit row on the plane, row 30, which gave me unlimited amounts of legroom. The aircraft was delivered in 2006 but the interior still seemed new and fresh. The seats were a little too firm for my liking and whenever I would move forward my seat cushion would follow. The seat recline was generous but the seat width is too tight, partly because the control for the IFE sticks out. The flight was roughly 35% full so there was plenty of room for people to spread out, all of the middle rows were being used as beds. For landing I sat in seat 31H so I could photograph since I was not allowed to have anything on my lap when seated in the exit row. Seating in row 31 gave me an idea of how tight the actual seat pitch is.

Entertainment – As I mentioned previously, Air Europa is the only Spanish airline to have PTVs and AVOD in economy. Air Comet offered this as well but they have ceased operations and Air Europa introduced this product first. The screen on my PTV was very shaky and out of focus so I used the one from 30G. It took me quite a while to figure out how to work the system and the remote is very confusing. I finally got the system to let me watch Adam and latter on I watched All About Steve. There were about 8 movie options, none of them being very new offerings. It wasn't possible to access the live map through the PTV but the main screens were constantly showing it.

Food – A light meal of chicken and pasta, the only option, was served an hour after takeoff. The meal came with a chocolate cake, a bread roll, and potato salad. Seeing as the legal drinking age in Spain is 18 I was able to get myself a nice glass of wine, which was tasty and liberating. There was only one round of drink service with dinner and breakfast, followed by coffee and tea. However the flight attendants were constantly coming around during the flight offering water. Breakfast consisted of a snack box with a croissant and a muffin.

Service – The flight attendants on my flight were all below 30 and an even mix between male and female. They were very friendly and chatty with the passengers. 20 minutes would not go by without me seeing a flight attendant walking around the cabin, which is a nice change from other airlines that I've flown recently when they disappear for hours at a time. As I was sitting right near a lavatory I found it interesting that the flight attendants would come and spray some sort of disinfectant after each use.

Terminal Experience- Terminal 4 was rather empty when I checked in at the Air Europa counters, which are located off of the main concourse where Virgin America has their desks as well. I had a decent Chinese dinner and then made my way to Concourse A to take some night shots. I'm not used to the airport at the late hours I was there and saw some of the more interesting visitors like the Arik Air A340-500, Asiana 777-200, Taca A321, Aerogal 767-300, etc. Concourse A was full of passengers going to FRA on Singapore, DOH on Qatar, BOM on Air India, DXB on Emirates, SCL on LAN, GIG on TAM, and DUB on Aer Lingus. At MAD we parked on a remote stand and were bussed to the terminal to meet a very empty immigration line and were through in no time.

Overall Impression – I was impressed with the product that Air Europa offers long-haul. The flight attendants were very helpful and friendly, the IFE was fine, and the seats comfortable enough. However I'm sure the 35% passenger load added to the enjoyment of the flight since it was so spacious. Provides the fares stay low, I think Air Europa will be my ride to Madrid in the future. The flight timing helps to that, the late departures from MAD and JFK give you a full day before you have to head to the airport.

NLovis · 2010-03-20, 01:55 AM

Thats a nice lookin 747 there. shocked you didnt fly Iberia Iberia :lol:

**Matt Molnar** · 2010-03-24, 01:36 PM

Great report, Gordon. Looks a lot nicer than Iberia.

**Iberia A340-600** · 2010-03-27, 10:06 AM

Thanks for the comments, guys. Nick, despite my name, I am not the biggest fan of Iberia.

A few observations of my return flight...

Check-in at MAD was rather hectic with flights departing to Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, Havana, Miami, London, and my flight to New York using only 4 desks, it took a good hour to get through the line. When it came time to board all passengers were submitted to a pat down and a complete search of our carry on luggage, which took roughly two hours to get everyone searched and delayed the flight. I was personally very annoyed by this process and was not aware it was still in place.

The flight on the way back was 95% full and I was seated in a regular seat, no exit row this time. I got into a verbal argument with the women sitting behind me concerning reclining my seat because the space was so tight, but I had the person in front of my fully reclined so she was out of her mind if she expected me not to recline. My PTV was again not working but I had it restarted and it worked long enough to watch Whatever Works before it conked out. This return flight was by far my worst trans-Atlantic crossing in terms of outside of the cabin seeing as there was constant heavy turbulence. Upon entering US airspace the live map was shut off and when it came time to descend we were held in a holding pattern for a good 45 minutes in very rough weather, there were quite a few people making use of the air sickness bags.

Despite the tight space and bumpy flight, the flight attendants were still extremely helpful and courteous. In the end it turns out my parents would not mind paying a little extra for the amenities of Air France.