Vueling
IATA ICAO Callsign
VY VLG VUELING
Founded10 February 2004 (2004-02-10)
Commenced operations1 July 2004 (2004-07-01)
Operating bases
List of bases
Frequent-flyer programVueling Club
(Part of Avios Loyalty programme)
Fleet size125
Destinations99[1]
Parent companyIAG (97.52%)[2]
HeadquartersViladecans, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Key peopleMarco Sansavini (Chairman & CEO),

Calum Laming (CXO), Michael Delehant (CSO),

Jorge Saco (CFO)
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]
Websitewww.vueling.com

Vueling S.A. (/ˈvwɛ.lɪŋ/, VWE-ling) is a Spanish low-cost airline based at Viladecans in Greater Barcelona with hubs at Barcelona–El Prat Airport (main), Paris-Orly Airport in Paris, France, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy (secondary). It is the largest airline in Spain, measured by fleet size and number of destinations. As of 2021, Vueling serves 122 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East,[6] and carried more than 34 million passengers in 2019.[7] Since 2013, it has been an operating company of International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia.

History

Early years

Vueling was established on 10 February 2004 and commenced operations on 1 July 2004 with a flight between Barcelona and Ibiza. The initial fleet consisted of two Airbus A320 aircraft, based in Barcelona serving Brussels, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca and Paris-CDG.[8] The name Vueling was formed by combining the Spanish word vuelo (flight) with the English gerund suffix -ing.[9]

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

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

Financial concerns and management re-shuffle

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 to Barbara Cassani, former Chief Executive of UK low-cost airline Go, 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

In June 2008, Vueling and rival Spanish low-cost airline Clickair announced 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 and Clickair was 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

Vueling Airbus A320-214 in MTV Livery at Paris-CDG, France (2008)

In 2009, Vueling for the second year running co-operated with MTV during 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 by Custo Dalmau and 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 the DJ and producer David Guetta; the livery has since been removed and co-operation with MTV has since ended.

2010 onwards

In November 2010, Vueling announced a new base at Toulouse Airport in France from April 2011,[21] followed in December 2010 by the announcement of a new base in Amsterdam, 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, including Airbus A319 aircraft. 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 that Rome would 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 in Florence: the carrier is to base one aircraft there and serve four new European destinations.[25] Ten months later, on 25 October 2013, Vueling launched Florence-Catania, its first domestic route in Italy.

Since November 2013, the airline has continued to expand from its hub at Barcelona.[26] On 6 November 2013, Vueling announced a new base with one aircraft in Brussels, with seven new destinations from May 2014, in addition to the four previous routes from Brussels. Also in November 2013, Vueling announced an expansion of its base at Rome-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.

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 to Sheremetyevo International Airport, Vilnius Airport and Rabat–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 to Frankfurt Airport.[30]

On 29 December 2017, it was announced that IAG would acquire Austrian airline Niki as a subsidiary for Vueling.[31] However, Niki was later acquired by Niki Lauda, the owner of Laudamotion, with investment from Ryanair.[32] A few months after losing the bid for Niki, IAG instead established Anisec Luftfahrt as a subsidiary of Vueling, operating as LEVEL, using four former Niki aircraft that had not been purchased by rival Lufthansa (and leased to Lauda).[33][34]

In 2020, Vueling announced new routes linking Paris, France and Dubrovnik, Croatia and Seville, Spain and Marrakech, Morocco.[35][36]

Corporate affairs

The key trends for Vueling over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):[37]

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Turnover (€m) 437 598 790 856 1,103 1,404 1,697 1,933 2,027 2,085 2,338 2,446 594 1,014 2,600
Net profit (€m) 8.5 27.8 46.0 10.4 28.3 93.4 98.3 95.3 48.9 117 149 132 −785 −350 130
Number of employees (at year end) 1,013 1,195 1,266 1,389 1,774 1,937 2,390 2,637 3,030 3,089 3,553 4,439 3,995 3,969 4,570
Number of passengers (m) 5.9 8.2 11.0 12.3 14.8 17.2 21.5 24.8 27.8 29.6 32.7 34.5 9.6 15.8 31.9
Passenger load factor (%) 70.3 73.7 73.2 75.6 77.7 79.6 79.6 81.3 82.4 83.7 84.3 85.7 69.8 76.6 87.0
Number of aircraft (average) 21 26 36 44 53 64 80 96 106 108 113 122 127 127 124
Notes/sources [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52]

Takeover by IAG

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

In November 2012, International Airlines Group, whose subsidiary Iberia held 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 of British 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.[53]

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 as BMAD waited on an official comment from Vueling regarding the updated offer. The acceptance period was also increased by 48 calendar days.[54]

On 9 April 2013, the board of Vueling unanimously recommended shareholders accept an improved offer of €9.25 per share from IAG. IAG CEO Willie Walsh confirmed 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 IAG group."[55]

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 Willie Walsh.[56]

Frequent flyer programme

Vueling's frequent flyer programme is Vueling Club, which allows members to earn and redeem Avios for award flights or fare discounts on Vueling and IAG airlines Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Level, and for award travel on Oneworld airline alliance partners. Vueling Club replaced Vueling's original programme, Punto (Spanish for point), on 27 October 2017, after being announced prior in August 2017.[57] Punto allowed account holders to earn and redeem points for Vueling flights.

Destinations

Countries in which Vueling operates as of October 2023[58][59]

Codeshare agreements

Vueling has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[60]

Fleet

Vueling Airbus A320-200
Vueling Airbus A321-200

As of June 2023, the Vueling fleet consists of the following aircraft:[62][63]

Vueling fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A319-100 6 — 144
Airbus A320-200 72 — 180
186
Airbus A320neo 25 8[64] 186
Airbus A321-200 18 — 220
Airbus A321neo 4 5[64] 236
Total 125 13

References

  1. ↑ "Vueling on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  2. ↑ "IAG - International Airlines Group - News Release". Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "International Airlines Group - Annual Report 2021" (PDF). www.iairgroup.com. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 "IAG - International Airlines Group - Annual Reports".
  5. ↑ "IAG - International Airlines Group - Annual Reports". www.es.iairgroup.com. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Vueling - Where we fly". www.vueling.com. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "Vueling Passenger Numbers". www.statistica.com. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  8. ↑ "The History of Vueling". Vueling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-10. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  9. ↑ "Vueling Launches Flight Service from Vienna to Rome" (PDF) (Press release). Vienna Airport. 4 May 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Madrid-listed budget carrier Vueling has warned higher fuel costs and lower ticket prices could result in it reporting a loss this year". E-tid.com. 2007-10-02. Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  11. ↑ "The Spanish stock market regulator CNMV has suspended trading in low-cost carrier Vueling's shares". E-tid.com. 2007-10-01. Archived from the original on 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  12. ↑ Vueling completes restructuring; reports Q2 operating profit
  13. ↑ "Vueling to Merge With Clickair". News.airwise.com. 2008-07-08. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  14. 1 2 "Vueling new airline name to UK. TravelMole. Phil Davies". Travelmole.com. 2009-07-06. Archived from the original on 2010-07-24. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  15. ↑ "Iberia-Clickair-Vueling surrender slots for merger approval". Flight International. 2009-01-09. Archived from the original on 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  16. ↑ "Vueling Passenger Statistics" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  17. ↑ "Vueling by MTV" (in Spanish). Spain: MTV. 2010-02-14. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  18. ↑ Lundgren, Johan (1996-2006). Photo Search Results EC-KDG. Airliners.net. AirNav Systems LLC. URL accessed on 2011.
  19. 1 2 Lundgren, Johan (1996-2006). Photo Search Results EC-KDG. Airliners.net. AirNav Systems LLC. URL accessed on 2011.
  20. ↑ "Vueling Cooperation with MTV". Vueling.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-05. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  21. ↑ "Vueling announces base in Toulouse". Flight International. 2010-11-09. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  22. ↑ "Vueling announces base in Amsterdam". Blog.flylowcostairlines.org. 2010-12-08. Archived from the original on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  23. ↑ "New Vueling Aircraft". Letstravelmag.com. 2011-01-21. Archived from the original on 2012-04-24. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  24. ↑ "Notizie" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 13 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  25. ↑ "Vueling", Airliner World: 7, February 2013
  26. ↑ "Vueling network to expand to 100 destinations from Barcelona-El Prat Airport in 2013". Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  27. ↑ "Vueling contrata 34 pilotos y alquila 6 aviones para atajar su crisis" (in Spanish). Spain: Expansion. 2016-07-04. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  28. ↑ Baquero, Camilo S. (2016-07-20). "La cancelación de tres rutas de Vueling indigna a la Generalitat". El País (in Spanish). Spain. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2017-09-20.
  29. ↑ "Vueling closes bases, rolls out restructuring plan". www.intelligent-aerospace.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  30. ↑ "Flüge nach Barcelona: Vueling gibt Frankfurt auf - aeroTELEGRAPH". aerotelegraph.com. 30 January 2017. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  31. ↑ "It's Official: Niki Will Become Part Of Vueling - One Mile at a Time". One Mile at a Time. 2017-12-29. Archived from the original on 2017-12-31. Retrieved 2017-12-31.
  32. ↑ Weiss, Richard (2018-03-20). "Ryanair Buys Niki Lauda Airline in Rare Foray Into Dealmaking". Bloomberg. Bloomberg L.P.
  33. ↑ Casey, David (2018-06-28). "Vienna calling for LEVEL as IAG plots Austrian assault". Routesonline. UBM (UK) Ltd. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  34. ↑ Hofmann, Kurt (2018-07-03). "IAG's Austrian-based Level increases LCC competition in Vienna". ATWOnline. Air Transport World. Retrieved 2018-07-24.
  35. ↑ "Low-cost airline Vueling launch Paris-Dubrovnik flights". Croatia Week. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  36. ↑ Yabiladi.com. "Vueling Airlines to start linking Seville to Marrakech in July". en.yabiladi.com. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  37. ↑ "Results and reports". www.iairgroup.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  38. ↑ FY08
  39. ↑ FY09
  40. ↑ FY10 Archived 2012-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ↑ FY11 Archived 2013-01-24 at the Wayback Machine
  42. ↑ FY12 Archived 2013-03-19 at the Wayback Machine
  43. ↑ "Auditors' Report on Financial Statements". Archived from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2015-01-10.
  44. ↑ "Annual Audit Report 2014". 16 March 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  45. ↑ "Independent Audit Report 2015". 1 March 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  46. ↑ "Independent Audit Report 2016". 23 February 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  47. ↑ "Independent Audit Report 2017". 7 March 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  48. ↑ "Independent Audit Report 2018" (PDF). 27 February 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  49. ↑ "Vueling Annual Report 2019" (PDF). IAG. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  50. ↑ "Vueling Annual Report 2020" (PDF). IAG. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  51. ↑ "Vueling Annual Report 2021" (PDF). IAG. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  52. ↑ "Vueling Annual Report 2022" (PDF). IAG. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  53. ↑ "IAG considering Vueling options after snub". RTE.ie. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  54. ↑ "IAG ups bid for budget airline Vueling by one third". Reuters UK. 2013-03-27. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  55. ↑ Menon, Praveen (2013-04-10). "IAG chief says won't merge Spanish airline Vueling with Iberia". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  56. ↑ Robert Wall (23 April 2013). "British Airways Parent IAG Wins Control of Spain's Vueling". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  57. ↑ "Vueling Club and Avios". Vueling.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-21.
  58. ↑ "Vueling Online Booking". Vueling. 25 May 2023.
  59. ↑ "Vueling Route Map". Flightconnections. 25 May 2023.
  60. ↑ "Profile on Vueling". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 2016-11-11. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  61. ↑ Liu, Jim (20 November 2018). "LATAM Brasil / Vueling begins codeshare service in 2H18". Routesonline. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  62. ↑ Airbus Orders and Deliveries (XLS), monthly updated, accessed via "Orders & deliveries". Airbus. Airbus SAS.
  63. ↑ "Vueling Fleet Details and History". Planespotters. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  64. 1 2 "IAG orders 37 incremental A320neo Family jets". ch-aviation. 31 July 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.

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