• SiewchSpain & ItalyTraveler
    The Soho Lounge at JFK.
    The Soho Lounge at JFK.The Soho Lounge at JFK.The Soho Lounge at JFK.My seat on IB2826.My seat on IB2826.Breakfast on IB 2826.EC-NRG at the gate in BCN.EC-NRG at the gate in BCN.Routing of IB2826 as captured on FlightRadar24.

    New York JFK to Barcelona

    March 21 in the United States 🌙 8 °C

    Iberia IB2628 operated by Level | JFK/BCN
    Premium Economy Class
    Airbus A330-200 | EC-NRG
    STD/2345 | STA/1220
    Soho Lounge

    One silver lining of this involuntary reroute was I got to experience the Soho Lounge, one of the three new premium lounges jointly operated by American and British Airways at JFK, with Soho being the lounge for Emerald status travelers. I was initially refused entry into the lounge as Level isn’t a OneWorld carrier despite being owned by Iberia. But, the lounge staff relented when I informed them about how I was involuntarily rerouted.

    My first task was to take a much needed shower, after which I happily settled into a plush seat. I checked out the à la carte items but none of them appealed to me, so I stuck with the buffet which had a good selection. The lounge itself was tastefully done up with good tarmac views.

    I made my way to the gate at boarding time to find that Group 1 had already boarded. Upon boarding, I settled into my seat in the last row of Premium Economy. This was my first flight on a long haul budget carrier and I didn’t really know what to expect. The seat was a little narrower than I expected, but recline was good. It did feel tight, though, as the recline from the seat in front of me impacted my space. The other Premium Economy seats I've tried on AA, BA, and JL didn't feel this cramped.

    Two meals were served on this flight - a hot meal after takeoff and a light breakfast before arrival. I declined the first meal as I was still full from my buffet at the lounge. We were served a quesadilla for breakfast.

    After landing at BCN, I had to get my passport and biometrics scanned as part of the Schengen region’s new entry process. I think the machines that read the passports and fingerprints still need some bugs worked out as more than half of them weren’t in working order; as for me, the first two machines I used failed to capture my biometrics properly. After arrival formalities, I took the Aerobus and made my way to Plaza Espanya, which was a short walk to my Mr B&B host’s apartment.    Read more