One of the uncontrolled aspects of booking a package deal holiday is that you are letting your tour operator loose with the choice of airline, and you have absolutely no idea what criteria they are using to make their choice. It's easy to think that they'll go for the cheapest option (having already published their all-in price), but maybe they are savvy enough to know that their own reputation will rest partly on this part of the holiday experience, which is entirely beyond their control. This is especially so, if you book through relatively small companies who certainly have no clout with the major airlines.

The route was London Heathrow to Mexico City, which involved a change in Madrid.

FLIGHT TIMES & TIMINGS

Punctuality matters so much to air-travellers, especially those who are making connections, that Iberia have it as their major mission statement being advertised in Mexico. They've got a way to go yet!

Greater health & safety considerations probably resulted from half-an-aircraftful of stressed out people sprinting across the Madrid terminal desperately trying to make connections!

In principle, it is a sound idea. It would work better however if the following two considerations could be taken into account.

Secondly, having cleared through security and then not been out of the sight & control of Iberia staff we were required, upon entry to the satellite terminal to clear security again. Why? What exactly does the Spanish airport authority think that their national carrier staff might have slipped to us while we were in the air? More unwarranted additional stress, while the watch keeps ticking.

In the event, I did get lucky enough to have a handy boarding gate and a quick-enough cross port sprint to make the very final call for my connecting flight.

So far so good. There was just one hitch.

I know all airlines overbook. But aren't they supposed to resolve this before you get on the plane? I resent the idea of standing from Peterborough to Darlington on the train….Mexico to Madrid was not going to happen! Having brought a crew member to explain the situation, my ghast was totally flabbered when his response was: "well you can sit there" pointing to the adjacent seat. [Oh, now, let me think. Perhaps that has also been allocated???] I held out for the seat number on my boarding card, emphasising my request for an aisle seat, and having gained possession I was not going to move. I'm grateful to the gent who did gracefully give way, initially to take the proffered window seat and then to seek a proper solution. He probably got the better end of the deal, because I believe he was upgraded to business class. For my part, I was just happy to be on the plane.

All flights were "Tourist Class" (or "Economy Class" as their website still has it). The planes were Airbus 321 on the London-Madrid leg & Airbus 340 on the long-haul section. All were clean, well-equipped and apparently well-maintained. There were no obvious technical difficulties. (Can you tell? Try flying certain other unnamed airlines!) In-flight hygiene was good. I'm always comforted on long-haul flights if I can walk into the toilets in my stocking feet without squirming, to find no water (or worse) lying on floors or surfaces, the paper supplies well-stocked and the rubbish emptied.

Although there is room for service improvement on the long-haul flights, I suspect this is more a matter of policy rather than attitude or training. My main complaint is that on the overnight return leg from Mexico DF to London refreshments were not available outside of the scheduled meal times. Dinner was served an hour or so after take-off, and breakfast a similar time-span before landing. For most of the 6 to 7 hour interval crew were not particularly in evidence. The main lighting was down, and given that in GMT times it was the early hours of the morning, sleep was probably a good idea. Local time at departure however meant that it wouldn't necessarily be what your body had in mind. On walking to the rear galley in search of water (which even Air India have available on request), I found only one crew member and she was apparently asleep. This compares with British Airways & Virgin who regularly patrol the aisles offering water to anyone who is awake. Given the known risks of dehydration on long-haul flights this really is something Iberia need to address. Not everyone will sleep the dark hours away.

The actual meals on both legs were very good. My only complaints were that there were only two options, rather than the usual three. The vegetarian option was only available if it had been pre-booked. And that water was again not given as a standard accompaniment, but had to be specifically requested. Hot food was piping hot, not lukewarm. Portion sizes were sufficient. Main dishes were accompanied by salad, bread (with both butter & cheese spread to choose from, extra bread offered), and a cake desert. Breakfast consisted of fresh fruit salad, with the ubiquitous ham/cheese sandwich, granola bar, juice. Other drinks were available on request and were always supplemented by tea & coffee, with sufficient refills available. Haute cuisine it isn't, but given the confines of the operation, it is good enough and on quality compares well with other operators.

When it comes to in-flight entertainment I'm not your man. More often than not I will have read or slept my way through the miles and return my ear-phones unopened at the end of the flight. On Iberia this is generally just as well. The planes do not have the seat-back screens that you will find with some other operators. You are reliant on overhead screens, centrally situated at intervals amidships. Unless you are lucky with your positioning, you will struggle to get a clear view of the picture. On the overnight flight, after the main film, the screens were blanked. If I were an in-flight movie buff, I know I'd prefer the option of sitting up all night watching a movie partly of my choice. Daytime gave one main feature film, and a selection of strange looking documentaries: well, did you know it is the year of the potato? I didn't tune in.

On the ground in Madrid, when the late incoming plane landed at our departure gate. A staff member was deputed to call disembarking passengers for one of the onward flights (Seville) & promptly directed them to their gate. He did this repeatedly and with a smile. Sadly that smile slipped somewhat, when other passengers thought the service was general & enquired about other connections. They were directed to the information boards.

BAGGAGE HANDLING

All they had to contend with, therefore, was one very clearly labelled, soft kitbag. They did so very well outbound. Inbound was not quite so good. I retrieved the bag, with one handle detached, making it very difficult to manipulate onwards from the airport. This was an irritation. But I have to say that (a) the bag was a freebie from the travel company and not particularly robust and (b) I do accept the Warsaw convention view that "the purpose of luggage is to protect the contents". The bag itself was promptly delivered on the carousel, still intact, still locked, and the contents - including a couple of fragile souvenirs - were undamaged. By recent T5 standards, this probably counts as a result!

I'd be nervous about connection times, not totally relaxed about the luggage, and would not be truly comfortable that I genuinely have a seat on this plane until I'm strapped in and we're speeding up for take-off. I would also strongly urge the company to reconsider their policy on providing drinking water for passengers at regular intervals on long-haul flights.