àlex cruz

Vueling and American Airlines signed on Thursday an agreement to foster the interconnection of their flights through Barcelona El Prat Airport and Rome-Fiumicino so as to increase their destination network. The Barcelona-based airline offers 140 destinations from the Catalan capital to Europe, the Middle-East and Africa, and 55 from the Italian airport. American Airlines clients will be able to take a flight to Barcelona and transfer to a Vueling flight using a single ticket and pick up their luggage at their destination airport. In addition, Vueling clients will be able to take a flight to Barcelona and fly onwards to New York, Miami, Philadelphia and Charlotte through American Airlines or its subsidiary US Airways. This strategic agreement links Europe's widest network of short- and medium-distance flights, which is operated by Vueling through Barcelona, with transatlantic routes linking the Old Continent to important hubs in the United States.

Vueling will launch 14 new routes from Barcelona El Prat Airport in the summer of 2014, reaching a total of 117 destinations from Catalonia’s main airport. Starting next summer, the Barcelona-based airline will favour German and Russian destinations. The company has also bought 7 new aircrafts, to make the total number of Vueling planes based in Barcelona El Prat reach 50. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, said these new routes coincided with the Catalan Government’s tourism strategy. Vueling currently holds 34% of the market share of the El Prat Airport and the company wishes to control 50% of this infrastructure’s air traffic within the next 5 years. With a total of 240 routes and 14 million passengers a year, Vueling is expected to become the leading airline in Europe for short- and medium-distance flights.

The airline group formed by British Airways and Iberia, IAG, announced it will buy up to 220 new Airbus 320 between 2015 and 2020, 120 of which will be for the recently-purchased Catalan company Vueling. IAG bought the Barcelona-based airline last spring and the operation was authorised in July by the competition authorities. Vueling is currently one of the few profitable airlines in Europe, with a business model evolving from a low-cost airline but offering business services and flying to the main airports in Europe. In fact, the company links Barcelona El Prat with 104 destinations (in Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and Africa) and it has operation bases in Madrid, Paris and Amsterdam, among others. Last July, Vueling increased its number of transported passengers by 18% and flights by 13% on July 2012 figures.

The Catalan company presented its strategic plan for next two years, which fosters its main hub, Barcelona El Prat Airport, by adding 28 new routes from next summer. Vueling plans to transform Barcelona Airport into the main European hub for short and medium distance flights. Currently, it is already the second continental hub in this category. Furthermore Vueling will strengthen its offer to business travellers by unveiling the ‘Excellence’ flying class and direct flights between Barcelona and London-Gatwick or Frankfurt. In addition, the Catalan airline will end 2012 with a profit for the fourth consecutive year.

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.

Vueling had a net profit of €10.4 million last year. This marks a clear improvement of 8.4% on its results from 2010 despite the 40% price increase in fuel. Vueling transported 11.6% more passengers in total, and 9% through its European routes last year. The Catalan company reached in 2011 its passenger record, with more than 12.3 million people transported.