Wikipedia

Vueling

This article is about the Spanish airline. For the Mexican airline, seeVolaris.For the Chinese automaker, seeWuling Motors.

Vueling S.A.(/ˈvwɛ.lɪŋ/,VWE-ling) is aSpanishlow-cost airlinebased atViladecansinGreater Barcelonawith operating bases atBarcelona–El Prat Airport(main);Paris-Orly AirportinParis,France;Amsterdam Schiphol AirportinAmsterdam,The Netherlands;andLeonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino AirportinRome,Italy(secondary). It is the largest airline in Spain, measured by fleet size and number of destinations.[citation needed]As of 2021, Vueling serves 122 destinations inAfrica,Asia,Europe,and theMiddle East,[6]and carried more than 34 million passengers in 2019.[7]Since 2013, it has been an operating company ofInternational Airlines Group,the parent company ofBritish Airways,Iberia,andAer Lingus.

Vueling
IATA ICAO Call sign
VY VLG VUELING
Founded10 February 2004;21 years ago(2004-02-10)
Commenced operations1 July 2004;20 years ago(2004-07-01)
Operating bases
List of bases
Frequent-flyer programVueling Club (Aviosaffiliate)
Fleet size136
Destinations99[1]
Parent companyIAG(97.52%)[2]
HeadquartersViladecans,Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Key peopleCarolina Martinoli (Chairman&CEO)
RevenueIncrease€1,016 million (2021)[3]
Operating incomeIncrease€181.1 million (2017)
Net incomeIncrease€117.2 million (2017)[4]
Total assetsIncrease€1,509.9 million (2017)[4]
Total equityDecrease€237.2 million (2012)[5]
Employees3,189
Websitewww.vueling.com

History

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Early years

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Vueling was established on 10 February 2004 and commenced operations on 1 July 2004 with a flight betweenBarcelonaandIbiza.The initial fleet consisted of twoAirbus A320aircraft, based in Barcelona servingBrussels,Ibiza,Palma de MallorcaandParis-CDG.[8]The name Vueling was formed by combining theSpanishwordvuelo(flight) with theEnglish gerundsuffix-ing.[9]

Initially, major shareholders of Vueling wereApax Partners(40%), Inversiones Hemisferio (Grupo Planeta) (30%), Vueling's management team (23%) and V.A. Investor (JetBlue Airways) (7%).[citation needed]During its nascent stages, the company's general manager was Lázaro Ros, while Carlos Muñoz was CEO. In November 2007, Vueling appointed managing director ofSpanairLars Nygaard as CEO to replace Carlos Muñoz, who remained a member of the board of directors.[citation needed]

Madrid was added as the airline's second base in 2005, followed by its first base outside Spain at Paris CDG in 2007.Sevillefollowed in December 2009.[citation needed]

Financial concerns and management re-shuffle

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In 2007, Apax Partners sold its then-21% stake in the carrier in June of that year, followed by two profit warnings issued in August and October. Two company directors and the chairman resigned shortly before the second profit warning, citing differences over commercial strategy.[10]Shares in the company were also temporarily suspended.[11]This led toBarbara Cassani,former Chief Executive of UK low-cost airlineGo,joining Vueling as chairman of the board in September 2007. The airline then embarked on a restructuring exercise and posted its first profit in mid 2009.[12]

Vueling and Clickair merger

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In June 2008, Vueling and rival Spanish low-cost airlineClickairannounced their intention to merge. The merger was designed to create a carrier better able to compete in the competitive Spanish airline market and mitigate high fuel costs with Iberia as the main industrial partner. While the new company would trade under the Vueling name, Clickair's Alex Cruz was named as chief executive.[13][14]The deal was subject to scrutiny and approval by European competition regulators, who were concerned that the merged airline would have a significant competitive advantage on around 19 routes. The regulators demanded the release of slots at Barcelona and other European airports as a condition of the merger.[15]On 15 July 2009, the merger of Vueling andClickairwas completed.[14]The new merged airline operates under the Vueling brand, with Clickair flights and aircraft re-branded under the Vueling name. It became the second largest Spanish carrier, flying 8.2 million passengers in 2009[16]to almost 50 destinations.

Co-operation with MTV

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VuelingAirbus A320-214inMTVLivery atParis-CDG,France (2008)

In 2009, Vueling for the second year running co-operated withMTVduring the summer season.[17]Two of Vueling's A320 aircraft (EC-KDG[18]and EC-KDH[19]) were re-painted into MTV liveries with some MTV styling on-board too. The designs of both liveries were created byCusto Dalmauand both liveries were removed at the end of 2009.[20]In the summer season of 2010, EC-KDG[19]had again been re-painted into an MTV livery, and in 2011, it was re-painted into a livery based on theDJandproducerDavid Guetta;the livery has since been removed and co-operation with MTV has since ended.[citation needed]

2010 onwards

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In November 2010, Vueling announced a new base atToulouse Airportin France from April 2011,[21]followed in December 2010 by the announcement of a new base inAmsterdam,also to open during April 2011. The Toulouse base opened on 23 April 2011, but has since closed.[22]

In January 2011, further expansion was announced with Vueling adding a further nine aircraft to its fleet, includingAirbus A319aircraft. Six Airbus A320s were delivered between April and June 2011, whilst the remaining two A320s were delivered by the end of 2011.[23]

On 21 March 2012, it was announced by CEO Alex Cruz thatRomewould be added as a new base. The base launched on 25 March 2012 with one aircraft based there: the airline has since expanded at Rome with numerous new destinations.[24]On 5 December 2012, Vueling announced the opening of a new base of operations inFlorence:the carrier is to base one aircraft there and serve four new European destinations.[25]Ten months later, on 25 October 2013, Vueling launchedFlorence-Catania, its first domestic route in Italy.

Since November 2013, the airline has continued to expand from itshubat Barcelona.[26]On 6 November 2013, Vueling announced a new base with one aircraft inBrussels,with seven new destinations from May 2014, in addition to the four previous routes from Brussels.[citation needed]Also in November 2013, Vueling announced an expansion of its base atRome-Fiumicino.From mid-2014, 8 aircraft would be based there, operating more than 30 routes. This expansion meant Rome-Fiumicino would become Vueling's secondary hub, after Barcelona. In 2014, Vueling opened routes to Warsaw and Cracow in Poland, both of which were canceled in 2020.

During the first weekend of July 2016, Vueling had many delays and cancellations, which resulted in an investigation by the Spanish authorities.[27]During the same month, Vueling cancelled all its flights toSheremetyevo International Airport,Vilnius AirportandRabat–Salé Airport.Clients were able to get a refund or fly to the nearest airport where Vueling flew.[28]In October 2016, Vueling shut down their bases in Brussels, Catania and Palermo as part of restructuring measures.[29]

In March 2017, Vueling canceled its route from Barcelona toFrankfurt Airport.[30]

On 29 December 2017, it was announced that IAG would acquire Austrian airlineNikias a subsidiary for Vueling.[31]However, Niki was later acquired byNiki Lauda,the owner ofLaudamotion,with investment fromRyanair.[32]A few months after losing the bid for Niki, IAG instead establishedAnisec Luftfahrtas a subsidiary of Vueling, operating asLEVEL,using four former Niki aircraft that had not been purchased by rivalLufthansa(and leased toLauda).[33][34]

In 2020, Vueling announced new routes linkingParis, FrancetoDubrovnik, CroatiaandSeville, SpaintoMarrakech, Morocco.[35][36]Subsequently in December 2024, Vueling announced that the airline will launch flights between Florence andBrusselsin April 2025 using their Airbus A319 aircraft.[37]

Corporate affairs

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The key trends for Vueling are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):[38]

Turnover
(€m) 		Net profit
(€m) 		Number of
employees[a] 		Number of
passengers
(m) 		Passenger
load factor
(%) 		Number of
aircraft[b] 		Notes/
sources
2008 437 8.5 1,013 5.9 70.3 21 [39]
2009 598 27.8 1,195 8.2 73.7 26 [40]
2010 790 46.0 1,266 11.0 73.2 36 [41]
2011 856 10.4 1,389 12.3 75.6 44 [42]
2012 1,103 28.3 1,774 14.8 77.7 53 [43]
2013 1,404 93.4 1,937 17.2 79.6 64 [44]
2014 1,697 98.3 2,390 21.5 79.6 80 [45]
2015 1,933 95.3 2,637 24.8 81.3 96 [46]
2016 2,027 48.9 3,030 27.8 82.4 106 [47]
2017 2,085 117 3,089 29.6 83.7 108 [48]
2018 2,338 149 3,553 32.7 84.3 113 [49]
2019 2,446 132 4,439 34.5 85.7 122 [50]
2020 594 −785 3,995 9.6 69.8 127 [51]
2021 1,014 −350 3,969 15.8 76.6 127 [52]
2022 2,600 130 4,570 31.9 87.0 124 [53]
2023 3,189 315 4,605 37.0 91.0 124 [54]

Takeover by IAG

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Vueling's head office in El Prat de Llobregat, Spain

In November 2012,International Airlines Group,whose subsidiaryIberiaheld a 45.85% stake in Vueling, offered to buy the remaining 54.15% of the company with both Iberia and IAG owning both shares and not resulting in the company being wholly owned by IAG through 100% of shares. IAG, also the owner ofBritish Airways,plans to use Vueling to help stem losses at Iberia. However, market trends (increased profits and improved figures from Vueling resulting in a higher share-price) had made IAG's offer a significant undervaluation of the airline. Vueling had urged its shareholders to reject IAG's offer and its shareholders had until the 8th of April 2013 to decide upon the recommendation.[55]

On 27 March 2013, IAG improved its offer for Vueling, raising its offer per share from €7 to €9.25. Vueling shares quickly surged following the announcement, rising by 8.8% to €9.23 following a temporary suspension asBMADwaited on an official comment from Vueling regarding the updated offer. The acceptance period was also increased by 48 calendar days.[56]

On 9 April 2013, the board of Vueling unanimously recommended shareholders accept an improved offer of €9.25 per share from IAG. IAG CEOWillie Walshconfirmed that the board had recommended the new offer; however, Walsh also stated that Vueling would not be merged with Iberia, saying, "Vueling will operate as a stand-alone entity in the IAG group."[57]

On 23 April 2013, IAG acquired control of Vueling, which saw the recently purchased 44.66% stake by IAG merged with Iberia's existing 45.85% stake to form a 90.51% shareholding. Vueling remains a standalone company now within the IAG, and its management structure is unchanged; however, Vueling's CEO reports directly to IAG CEO.[58]

Frequent flyer programme

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Vueling'sfrequent flyer programmeis Vueling Club,[59]which allows members to earn and redeemAviosfor award flights or fare discounts on Vueling andIAGairlinesAer Lingus,British Airways,Iberia,andLevel,and for award travel onOneworldairline alliance partners. Vueling Club replaced Vueling's original programme, Punto (Spanish forpoint), on 27 October 2017, after being announced prior in August 2017.[60]Punto allowed account holders to earn and redeem points for Vueling flights.

Destinations

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Countries in which Vueling operates as of September 2024[61][62]

Codeshare agreements

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Vueling hascodeshare agreementswith the following airlines:[63]

Fleet

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VuelingAirbus A321-200

As of February 2025,Vueling operates an all-Airbus A320 familyfleet composed of the following aircraft:[65]

Vueling fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-100 6 — 144
Airbus A320-200 83 — 180
186
Airbus A320neo 25 — 186
Airbus A321-200 18 — 220
Airbus A321neo 4 — 236
Total 136 13

Notes

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  1. ^at year end
  2. ^on average

References

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