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6 Leaving Valencia at sunrise .
7 View of engine two from the cockpit .
8 View of engine one during the quick walk-around in Ibiza .
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of the 18,863 flights it operated from Madrid to 43 different cities , 23 of them outside Spain .
Air Nostrum still plays an important role in Valencia ´ s connection with the world . Its flights to Madrid are code-shared with other oneworld airlines , enabling passengers flying in from Valencia to smoothly connect to the rest of the world .
Another priority of Air Nostrum is the inter-island connection to the Balearic Islands , particularly Palma de Mallorca ( PMI ) -Mahon ( MAH ). It made 3,185 flights back and forth 2023 . The inter-islands flights are subsidized routes ; Balearic residents get a sizeable discount , making it easier to travel around the islands . Air Nostrum crucially connects Ibiza ( IBZ ) and Menorca ( MAH ) with Mallorca ( PMI ), where
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Balearic passengers can take flights to Madrid ( MAD ) or the rest of Europe .
AIR NOSTRUM IN THE FUTURE
Like many airlines , Air Nostrum constantly works to make aviation cleaner , with less noise and less emissions .
In 2022 , Air Nostrum signed an agreement with CEPSA ( a Spanish Petroleum Company ) to use sustainable aviation fuel ( SAF ) on 2 % of its ´ s flights in 2025 . The first SAF flight was operated in May 2022 on the Seville ( SVQ ) -Valencia ( VLC ) route , while carrying the Valencia CF soccer team .
Also in 2022 , Air Nostrum signed an agreement with the British company Hybrid Air
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Vehicles ( HAV ) to become the launch customer of the Airlander 10 dirigible , which reduces carbon emissions by 90 %. Scheduled to begin service in 2026 , the Airlander 10 can be a solution for towns or islands that do not have an airport .
FLYING ON THE BALEARICS ROUTES
Air Nostrum invited us to spend a day reviewing their operations in the Balearic Islands , sharing some flights with the cockpit crews of the ATR 72-600 and the CRJ-1000 .
Our journey started on a September morning at Valencia Airport , where we took the first Air Nostrum flight of the day , IB8430 from Valencia ( VLC ) to Ibiza ( IBZ ), which then continues on to Palma de Mallorca ( PMI ) as IB8513 .
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Our flight was scheduled to embark at 06:25 ; so , a little earlier , we met with the crew and walked to ATR 72-600 EC- LQV , an 11-year-old plane that had been delivered directly to Air Nostrum in April 2012 and one of the few in the fleet that still retains Iberia ’ s old livery —‘ IB ’ on the tail and three stripes along the fuselage . Doors were closed at 06:50 and , at 07:10 , we were ready to take off from Valencia on our short flight to Ibiza . |
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During takeoff , we enjoyed beautiful sunrise views and , just as soon as the crew had handed out some drinks , it was already time to prepare for landing . We landed in Ibiza ( IBZ ) at 07:38 , after 29 minutes of flying time and seven minutes earlier than scheduled . |
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Those passengers continuing to Palma de Mallorca ( PMI ) reboarded a couple of minutes |