Iberia’s new A350 takes flight with enhanced interiors
Iberia’s Business Class seating on its new A350 offers greater comfort, privacy and spaciousness
Iberia’s first new A350 has entered into commercial service, with flight IB6845 from Madrid to Buenos Aires on January 4.
To celebrate, all 352 passengers travelling on board were given state-of-the-art wireless headphones from Panasonic, as well as an amenity kit specially designed for all cabins on this flight, and a cocktail created as part of the onboard service.
Iberia is the launch customer of Airbus’ new Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins.
In Business Class, all seats have direct access to the aisle, and the central ones — called honeymoon — incorporate an automatic separator. With an independent door, each closed armchair turns into a completely horizontal bed, which is now five centimetres longer. Other details include wood finishes articulated leather headrests and more space for personal items. In addition, the number of each seat is projected in the aisle, to facilitate its location when the cabin is dark during rest periods.
Iberia’s Premium Tourist (Premium Economy) offers more privacy than its predecessor, thanks to the enveloping structure of the chair, which also incorporates articulated headrests, which fold and adjust on both sides of the head, for greater customer comfort. The seat also includes a remote control for onboard entertainment with a touch navigation panel and specific gaming functions.
In Tourist Class, (Economy) Iberia has taken advantage of the wider cabin to increase the width of each seat by one centimetre, maintaining the same number of seats per row as in its other A350s. Seat headrests are articulated, folding and adjusting to the two sides of the head, as in the rest of the cabins.
The new in-flight entertainment system incorporates the latest Panasonic technology as well as Bluetooth compatibility
The A350 also includes Panasonic’s IFE Next system, developed in collaboration with Iberia.
The 4K resolution screen, 12 to 13 inches in Premium Economy and 10 to 12 inches in Economy, includes night lighting to avoid disturbing other nearby customers. The Business and Economy Premium seats have a secondary screen, located in the lower part, which is activated to transmit messages from the crew without interfering with the reproduction of the content. A standout feature of the IFE system is its ability to be paired with Bluetooth headphones.
Each seat has USB A and C connectors, as well as universal power outlets.
The new generation of A350 has six different lighting environments: wake up, meal, relax, sleep, boarding, take-off and landing, which provide the appropriate ambient lighting for each stage of the journey in all cabins.
In the toilets, the taps are contactless and the coatings have been made with antibacterial materials that improve hygiene in these spaces.
