Catalan airline Vueling to open a permanent base at Rome Fiumicino Airport
Vueling will offer almost 1 million seats from Rome in eight different routes, including a new direct connection with Nantes. Rome will be Vueling’s third base abroad, after Amsterdam and Toulouse. “It is the first necessary step to consolidate Vueling’s growth in Rome and in Italy”, stated the Catalan airline’s CEO, Àlex Cruz.
Barcelona (ACN).- Vueling will open its third permanent base abroad at Rome Fiumicino Airport on March 25th, after Amsterdam and Toulouse. From Roma Fiumicino, which is officially called Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, the Catalan airline will offer 937,260 seats in the summer season to 8 different destinations, including a new direct flight to Nantes. From Rome, Vueling will directly fly to 8 European airports: Barcelona, Málaga, Eivissa/Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca, València, Paris Orly, and Nantes. Vueling was already present in Rome, but with this strategic move, the Catalan company strengthens its operations from Fiumicino and it consolidates its presence in Italy. “It is the first necessary step to consolidate Vueling’s growth in Rome and in Italy”, stated the Catalan airline’s CEO, Alex Cruz. In Italy, the Catalan airline expects to grow by 17% this year, operating 23 different routes from 9 airports: Rome, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Venice, Verona, Palermo, Genoa and Naples.
Vueling CEO, Álex Cruz, and the CEO of Aeroporti di Roma (ADR), Lorenzo Lo Presti, announced the news at Roma-Fiumicino on Wednesday. Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci International Airport becomes the airline’s third base outside of Spain, after the opening of Amsterdam and Toulouse. As a start, Vueling will base one Airbus A320 in Rome, with a capacity for 180 passengers. From March 25th, a daily flight will leave Rome at 07.00am and will arrive at Barcelona at 08.50, “perfect for business trips and for connecting with the wide flight network from Barcelona El Prat Airport”, Cruz stated.
Vueling’s objective in Rome is to copy its growth strategy in Paris, from where the Catalan airline operates a total of 17 direct routes. Furthermore, the Catalan company has become the third airline in Paris, both considering capacity and transported passengers. Besides the eight direct routes, Vueling will offer seven unprecedented routes from Fiumicino via the company’s hub in Barcelona: Las Palmas, Lanzarote, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Vigo, Brest and Southampton.