Welcome to my part 2 of my Air Europa Experience!
My ride: EC-OGS
Flying through Madrid was mainly due to Air Europa's home base and this time round, I got to visit the lounge, a first for me in Europe. It was a good time to fly to the land of the World Cup winners of 2026, a football competition (controversial one) featuring the best teams of all the world taking part in this exciting competition host by Canada, Mexico and United States. I won't go into much details about the world cup but I like to send my congratulations to Spain for winning this year's edition. Why did I say it was a good time to travel there? Mainly for the good weather and the temperature was at a comfortable 20 degrees plus in Madrid. So without further ado, let's begin this trip report!
About Madrid Airport
Adolfo Suarez Madrid- Barajas Airport (IATA code: MAD and ICAO: LEMD) is the primary airport in Madrid and also the second largest airport in Europe with CDG (Paris Airport) being the largest airport in this continent. This airport is home to Air Europa, Iberia, Iberia Express, Iberia Regional, Plus Ultra Lineas Aereas and World2fly. With an airport of such size, it is not surprised to know there are 5 terminals: Terminal 1 to 4 and 4S (5th terminal). This airport started operation in 1931 and has grown in size all these years. the airport in 2014 was renamed to Adolfo Suarez Madrid Barajas in tribute to him.
Currently Iberia dominates the traffic at this airport and with 4 runways in used, it is not a surprised how busy it is with domestic, regional and international flights happening most parts of the day. For flight operation, it is opened for 24 hours but there is a noise rule which restricts the noisest aircraft to arrive or depart between 2300 to 0700 hrs.
Map layout of the airport (Airportmaps.com)
During the transit at Madrid
Terminal 1 was certainly busy with human traffic during my time there.
To find out where your airline is departing from this airport, click here (unoffical airport's website).
It was time to head over to the gate and at this point, I made my way out of the airport lounge.
After exiting the lounge, I made my way to the gate.
For the lounge review, click here
There are vending machines available. Cash and card payment are accepted.
Self automated starbucks coffee
This was my first time departing from this terminal at Madrid as my previous 2 visits, I departed from Terminal 4 which is newer.
I was fortunate to be able to avoid the long queue and joined the shorter one to board the aircraft first.
Ryanair - I have plans to fly with this airline and hopefully try the airline's Boeing 737 MAX 8200. What's the difference between this aircraft and the standard 737 MAX 8? More seats squeezed into this aircraft. Good for the bean counters, but bad for us, consumers.
Walking through the aerobridge.
Spotted Ryanair's Boeing 737 MAX 8.
Almost there!
My first time on Air Europa's Boeing 737 MAX 8.
A member of the Skyteam Alliance since September 2007.
The aircraft's technical information of this aircraft.
My ride: EC-OGS
Photo: DN280
Flight route: MAD-LGW
Average Flight Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Distance: 1,209 km (Estimated)
Airlines flying on this route: Air Europa, Iberia Express and Easyjet
My seat: 2F
Photo: Aerolopa.com
Date of departure: 24th February 2026
Airline: Air Europa
Flight: UX1015
Route: MAD-LGW
Aircraft: Boeing 737 MAX 8
Registration: EC-OGS
Class: Business
Seat: 2F
Departure terminal: 1
Gate: B31
Load: 50% in J Class
Flight Time 1 hour 50 mins
Actual Flight Time: 1 hour 44 minutes
Schedule Departure: 1500
Boarding: 1422
Push Back: 1508
Take Off: 1525
Schedule Arrival: 1625
Actual Arrival: 1609
Departure Runway: 36L
Departure Weather: Clear
Arrival Runway: 26L
Arrival Weather: Clear
My inflght experience
Boarding took place not long after my arrival at the crowded gate area. It was certainly great to be able to avoid the crowd and the few of us along with the elite members either from the Skyteam or the airline's frequent programme were allowed to board first and I settle down quickly at my seat 2F. It was nice that this cabin was half full and I was one of the lucky ones with the whole row to myself.
Once we pushed back, we taxied to the runway which took about 15 minutes and we were blessed with good weather for this flight. Not long after take off, the cabin crew came and served us our meal service, we were given what was served by this famous chef, Mario Sandoral! You can check out the photos of the meal in my later part of the trip report. Overall, I enjoyed the meal although I am not a fan of Parmesan cheese. Whatever it is, it's nice to be served a nice warm meal on this short flight.
Since this aircraft was not equipped with WiFi at this point of time, I had to settle for the entertainment on my own device and on occasions, enjoy the beautiful outside view, thanks to the good weather. Even U.K surprised me with cloudless weather as usually grey gloomy clouds would greet me when the aircraft started descending and on final approach into one of the London airports but for this flight, it was nice to enjoy a magnificent view of the city.
What stood up for this flight is the fantastic service I received from one of the crew, she was cheerful, friendly and was beaming with smile when I interacted with her. I was lucky to encounter such a nice staff. This has certainly made my 2nd flight experience even better.
Just like the other European airlines, the business class seats are based on the economy class seats with only the middle seat remaining vacant and I hope more airlines would upgrade and reconfigured into a 2-2 mroe comfortable layout for the premium class cabin, this would improve and make it more worth for paying passengers.
Cabin photos
Do note: There are 189 standard seats on this aircraft and only the first few rows of seats are dedicated for business class. Main difference is the middle seat remains vacant.
The curtain divider can be adjusted to cater to the number of business class passengers booked on the flight.
These are the Recaro R1 slimseats which I find it to quite alright in terms of comfort. Since I had both the middle and aisle seat vacant, I was able to stretch out and enjoy the extra legroom space.
This is my seat 2F which is perfectly aligned to the window.
The front view from my seat
The seats across my aisle
Legroom space is standard.
The logo of Air Europa.
The front view cabin from my seat angle.
This is how I enjoyed the extra legroom space.
The curtains offer more privacy for the business class passengers.
With the mood lighting in used, it enhanced the cabin atmosphere.
A few more photos of my seat.
I do recommend seat 2A or 2F.
The headrest with the business class logo
The view of the seats behind me
USB Type A and C charging ports are available on this aircraft.
Foldable tray table
Each row of seats comes with 2 sets of charging ports.
The view of the front seat with the tray table extended out.
These slimseats do help the airlines save a bit of weight.
This is how the legrooms space is like in row 2.
That's me giving all of you a readers, a big cheers!
What's provided for each passenger?
A personalised menu
I chose a glass of tomato juice.
This is the creamy rice with chicken.
This is how the whole meal tray looks like.
We were given a packet of wet tissue.
Later on, I asked for a glass of orange juice.
The inflight menu
(Buy-On-Board) Service
Inflight magazine
Disposal Bag
Safety Card
Inflight entertainment
Unfortunately, WiFi was not available on this aircraft. (February 2026 update)
Window view photos
(Take off to landing photos)
Do you think the fuel truck is as long as the 737 MAX 8200 aircraft? :)
This is Ryanair's 737-8 200
(You can tell by the emergency door behind the wing which the standard MAX 8 verison doesn't have).
This is Malta Air's Boeing 737 MAX 8-200
Look at how nice the weather is!
Passing by some widebody aircraft including one airline that would fly me home in a few days time.
It is certainly nice to be sitting in front of the wing.
It took slightly more than 10 minutes of taxi to get to the runway.
The taxi path to our runway (Photo: Flightradar24)
Passing by some interesting traffic just like this aircraft spotted.
This is TAP's Airbus A321neo, you can check out my trip report of this airline over here.
Passing by Enter Air and TUI's Boeing 737 aircraft.
Tui's livery looks great on this Boeing 737-800, don't you agree?
The view of the terminal 4 of MAD's airport!
Fortunately the traffic was light at this point, so we managed to taxi to the runway without delay.
We finally reached the runway.
Off we go and adiaos, Spain! Once again, congratulations of your World Cup victory!
80 knots.... check...
V1.... rotate......positive climb... gear up......
That's why window seat is important to me!
You can tell how dry the ground is.
We made some turns to follow the path route towards our destination.
Flying over the snowy mountain alps.
With some cloud coverings along the route but there was hardly any turbulence on this flight.
At this point, I was enjoy some movies on my device and I spotted this view.
Flying over the English Channel.
We entered the U.K airspace.
Started our descent into London Gatwick Airport.
Excellent lighting as the light was shining at our aircraft's engine.
It was a beautiful evening with a little bit of windy condition during our descent.
By this time, our aircraft was in a landing configuration with the pilot-in-command taking over the control just about 500-800 feet from the autopilot. He/She will manually land the aircraft.
Look at the number of vehicles!
Few more seconds to touch down!
Welcome back to London Gatwick, Charles!
We touched down smoothly onto runway 26L.
I almost forgot to mention that our captain was a female pilot! Great to know there are more female Captains in the aviation industry.
We exited out of the runway and taxied to our assigned gate.
Almost there!
Turning into our parking lot.
Here we are, we parked at our assigned gate ahead of schedule.
For the aircraft and the crew, they would fly back to Madrid. For me, I was on my way to my accommodation.
My flight summary
Welcome back to London Gatwick!
Thanks for the ride, EC-OGS!
British Airways Airbus A320 being prepared for departure.
The walk towards arrival hall took around 10 minutes.
As I had only my backpack, I walked all the way out.
Once we pass through this, we were not allowed to re-enter. So make sure check that your have all your belongings before you exit.
This is the arrival hall.
I made my way to the south terminal.
At the airport train station, I took the themeslink train to Blackfriar station.
Before heading to my accommodation, I went to meet up with my mum and niece for dinner at Canada Water area.
Hope you enjoy my trip report!
What's coming up next?
My 3rd part of Saudia Airlines (LGW-JED) trip report, coming up soon.
My ratings
Airline Website/Mobile App: 3.5/5
Airport Experience (Madrid Airport (MAD): 3.5/5)
Inflight Service: 4/5
Seat Comfort: 4/5
Inflight Entertainment: 0/5
Cabin Ambiance: 5/5
Cabin Condition: 5/5
Cleanliness: 5/5
Inflight Meal/Beverage: 3.5/5
Punctuality: 5/5
Total Score: 38.5/50
Percentage: 77%
Conclusion
It was nice to have the whole row to myself and enjoy this business class service from one of the outstanding crew who shown great interest in providing a top class service to the few of us in this class cabin. It was less than 50% and I suppose because of the low factor, the price upgrade was quite cheap, not only I got the better seat, I had lounge access which sums up how pleasant the experience is after arrival at Madrid airport for the layover and the flight to London Gatwick. Would I fly with this airline again?Certainly! I did consider flying this airline to South America with the Boeing 787, but after the airline announced the A350 order, I might wait for the new aircraft to arrive then make my plans.
Even for the economy class, the experience was nice with the cabin atmosphere enhancing the and bring comfort to the passengers and with more aircraft having Wifi installed on it, inflight streaming would be available for all and as a member of the skyteam alliance, this European airline is certainly giving its rivals a run for their money! IAG (Owners of British Airways) was supposedly interested in increasing the stake of this airline and if that happens, that would reduce competition and that means higher airfares for the consumers. Fortunately, that decision was not approved by the European Commission. So what does that mean for this airline? It would continue to operate independently and whether another group would buy out this airline remains to be seen, l am happy to see this airline continue to grow and keep the fare competitive especially in Spain.
Thanks for reading! Have a great one!
Charles Ryan
For my previous trip report (Air Europa Part 1: BIO-MAD Boeing 737-800), click here
For the airport lounge review at Madrid airport, click here
Coming up next: Saudia Boeing 787-10 (LGW-JED) trip report 
