Review: Air Nostrum business class from Ibiza to Madrid, booked with Avios

This is my review of flying with Air Nostrum in business class.

After my underwhelming experience in the Sala Lounge Cap Des Falco, I got to board the Air Nostrum flight from Ibiza to Madrid.

This was not the most exciting flight in the world as you will see.  The reason we wanted to cover it on Head for Points is to highlight the fact that you can use Avios on Air Nostrum services.

Based in Valencia, with additional hubs in Madrid and Barcelona, Air Nostrum is focused on flights around Spain.  There are also a number of international routes, of which Frankfurt is the longest – it does not fly to the UK.

The airline operates as an Iberia franchise.  It is not owned by IAG or Iberia.

If you find yourself needing to fly around Spain or major cities in nearby countries, Air Nostrum is a potential option.

You can book Air Nostrum services for points via either the Iberia or BA Avios schemes.

The Air Nostrum business class experience

My one way Business Class flight from Ibiza to Madrid cost 9,000 Avios points and £15.60 in taxes, booked via Iberia Plus.  This included lounge access in Ibiza.

I only booked via Iberia Plus due to improved business class availability.  Looking at peak summer dates, the cost rises to 10,000 Avios plus £17.20 via Iberia Plus.  Book on ba.com and you only pay 10,000 Avios plus £7.80!  For the Ibiza to Madrid route, Iberia Plus also has options to use Avios to fly with Vueling which are not bookable on ba.com.

Other business class benefits were few.  There was no priority line and not only did I end up being the last person in the boarding queue:

…… I also had to leave my carry on outside the plane:

…… as no larger items were allowed on board.

When I got on board I understood why. The plane was very small and very busy.

There were 12 business class seats in total and only four of them were occupied – which is why I found it more than annoying that I was at next to someone who also turned out to be an armrest hogger. Luckily they let me change seats.

We were served a sandwich and an alcoholic, soft or hot drink. With only four people in business class the airline had loaded …. four sandwiches. I got to ‘choose’ the last one which was some kind of eggy red pepper mash – I never found out what the other option would have been.

As I was still fighting my cough, I chose a coffee which was actually pretty good.

Economy passengers have a ‘buy on board’ service – I couldn’t see what was available.

In Madrid we got off the plane and I got my carry on back.

We had to walk to the airport building.  As the plane landed at the gate furthest away from the exit, it still took about 30 minutes to leave the airport despite being on a domestic flight.

Conclusion

Air Nostrum’s service is comparable with any other two-class low cost European airline.  It was perfectly ok for a short flight but certainly nothing special.  With 2×2 seating throughout, there is no real benefit to business class except for a seat at the front and lounge access – although, given that it was only 4,500 additional Avios over economy, I (well, HfP) was happy to pay it.  If you find yourself needing to fly to smaller cities in Spain, bear them in mind as an option.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.