Fly Iberia’s A350 aircraft with its new flat bed business class to Madrid this summer

Iberia takes delivery of its first Airbus A350 aircraft in June, a year ahead of its big brother British Airways.

Iberia already has a decent Business Class on its long-haul aircraft as I reviewed here.  It is a big step up on what British Airways offers in Club World.

There are no pictures yet of the interiors of the new aircraft.  They will be three class aircraft with Iberia’s new Premium Economy cabin of 24 seats installed.  Business Class will have 32 seats.

Iberia has promised that the new seat will be better than the existing version:

Wider – at 58cm vs 52.5cm

Larger TV – 18 inches vs 15.4 inches

Wider footrest and more storage

And flying soon to London ….

The new aircraft will debut on the Madrid to New York route in August.

However, from June, Iberia is planning to roster the aircraft onto the London to Madrid route for crew training.  This will allow you to book yourself into Business Class for the standard short haul rates and take a look at the new seat and service.

Iberia already runs a long-haul aircraft on one departure per day, usually early evening, with an A340.  This is how I got to write my review of the seat.   British Airways has also been running a daily service, early afternoon, with a Boeing 777 and occasionally a Boeing 787.

This is done purely for cargo reasons.  Finnair is running a new A350 between Helsinki and Heathrow on some services for the same reasons.  Because it is done for cargo, you can be confident that there will not be a last minute aircraft switch onto a short haul plane.

It isn’t yet clear if the new A350 will replace the A340 departure or if it will be slotted in somewhere else.  Once they appear in the timetable I will book myself on to take a look as I did with the Finnair A350, reviewed here.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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:

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

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, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

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Capital on Tap Pro Visa

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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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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.

American Express Business Platinum

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American Express Business Gold

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