paris orly

IAG, the company resulting from the merger of British Airways and Iberia, improved its initial offer from €7 per share to €9.25 to buy 100% of the Catalan airline’s shares. Iberia already owned 45.85% of Vueling and the IAG offer aimed to buy the remaining 54.15%. However, IAG had already stated the operation would still be carried out if it could buy 4.16% of Vueling’s share, in order to own 50.01% of the airline. Finally, more than four fifths of the remaining shareholders decided to sell their stocks to IAG. The international airline will buy 44.66% of Vueling’s shares and then it will own 90.51% of the company based in Barcelona El Prat Airport. Vueling is one of the few European airlines that has made a profit in the last few years. It has a competitive business model, flying to more than 200 destinations.

Vueling earned a net profit of €28.3 million in 2012, almost three times more than the €10.3 million of 2011. It transported 14.8 million passengers, 20.1% more than in the previous year, with an occupancy rate of 77.7%. The Barcelona-based airline continues with its international expansion, especially in Western Europe, and it has become the third largest airline in Paris-Orly and Roma-Fiumicino. It also increased the passenger traffic share it controls in Barcelona El Prat Airport by up to 30%. The total revenue reached €1.103 billion last year, 27.7% more than in 2011. Vueling occupied part of the market share left by Spanair in Barcelona. Besides. the Spanish Stock Market Authority has authorised IAG’s take-over operation of Vueling, aiming to take total control of the Catalan company.

The airline Vueling, which has its main base at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, has a network of permanent operating bases, to which Paris Orly will be added if French authorities give the green light. Vueling’s Chairman, Josep Piqué, announced that a minimum of six planes will be based at France’s second airport. Across the 21 routes it has in France, the airline estimates that it will carry 26% more passengers in 2011 when compared to last year.