Anyone have any input on the safety record of Air Nostrum. I know they're part of Iberia, but that's all I know.

A couple of weeks ago I booked a flight on "Iberia" from Valencia to Madrid online, and my confirmation showed the airline "Air Nostrum". I was surprised and was a little worried. I did a google search on them and saw that they had very good reviews from recent passengers. From courteous ground staff, warm and helpful stewardesses, comfy seats, etc.

It was all true. I was impressed with the warmth and friendliness of the two stewardesses and also the condition/cleanliness of the plane. It was a very pleasant short journey.

Unfortunately, I don't know about their safety record, but it's kinda unanimous online that reviewers feel it's a waste that this sparkling little airline is part of Iberia which doesn't get good reviews for service.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Vivki that is a help. I'll go ahead and book.

We've flown on Air Nostrum many times over the last several years between Pamplona and Madrid. Its service is among the best.

Actually, Iberia has been trying to upgrade their service over the past several years, probably to keep up. We'll test it again in May with ORD-MAD and then Air Nostrum to MRS.

It seems like most airlines nowdays have their second tier, Ted, American Eagle, etc.... The same is happening in Europe.

I checked out serveral serious sites on airplanes and airlines and didn't find a problem. They're flying Candair Regional Jets.

If you look hard enough, you can even find web sites where people taking pictures of their meals. Nothing like 300 photos of Iberian Airlines food.

I'll pass on food photos, but thanks for the comments.

We flew Air Nostrum between Nice and Barcelona two years ago. No complaints with the plane at all, plus we were seated two rows away from Danny Glover!

I have flown Air Nostrum twice between Madrid and Santander. Very classy and comfortable (much better that Iberia!). Leather seats, nice space between rows, and very good breakfast provided.

OK so I'll book the Air Nostrum flights. I'm not going until September, would you advise to get the tickets now. I've never flown internally in Europe. Have always done the trains so I don't know how it works. Thanks all for your help.

Yes, I would get the tickets now, esp. if you want a certain flight between cities. September can still be quite busy.

If the price is acceptable buy it now.

air nostrum belong(ed)s? to a well-known valencia businessman who decided to create his own airline to go the places iberia was not flying directly from valencia.

It has been very successful. They now even have some jets. Much of their fleet is propeller planes.

They are not very large, and still treat the passenger as though flying is something special, passing around free snacks/breakfast tray or light meal/sandwich, depending on the time of day.

They also still give out local press, and will plane-side check any carry-on bag that will not fit in the smaller- than-usual overheads, suited,mostly, for coats, purses.

i love them.

iberia recently bought them, it seems, but perhaps with the condition of keeping up the nice service they no longer offer on their traditional iberia domestic flights.

go for it.

safety record great, as far as i can remember. our nephew flies for them, and he chose them.. not the other way around.

Lin,

My experience with them was as you described. The stewardess took my small carry-on from and personally brought it to the "belly" of the plane to be loaded.

As you say, I found the service a throwback to what flying must have been in the 50's and 60's. refreshing.

My experience from Mad to Santander was in a jet but I wouldn't mind taking a propeller with them.

Most commercial airlines in the developed countries are so safe that it is difficult to realistically make comparisons among them, because they all have such low rates of incidents and accidents.

As a general rule, regional and commuter carriers are not as safe as major national airlines. European airlines are not as safe as American carriers. The differences in the former case particularly are statistically significant, but the overall risk is still extremely low.