Vueling facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Vueling

Founded	10 February 2004; 21 years ago (2004-02-10)
Commenced operations	1 July 2004; 20 years ago (2004-07-01)
Operating bases	List of bases Alicante Barcelona (main) Bilbao Florence Gran Canaria Ibiza (seasonal) London–Gatwick Málaga Palma de Mallorca Paris–Orly Rome–Fiumicino Santiago de Compostela Seville Tenerife–North Valencia Amsterdam
Frequent-flyer program	Vueling Club (Part of Avios Loyalty programme)
Fleet size	125
Destinations	99
Parent company	IAG (97.52%)
Headquarters	Viladecans, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Key people	Marco Sansavini (Chairman & CEO), Calum Laming (CXO), Michael Delehant (CSO), Jorge Saco (CFO)
Revenue	€1,016 million (2021)
Operating income	€181.1 million (2017)

| net_income = €117.2 million (2017)}} | assets = €1,509.9 million (2017)}} | equity = €237.2 million (2012)}} | website = }}

Vueling is a Spanish airline that offers flights at lower prices. Its main base is in Viladecans, near Barcelona, Spain. It also has important hubs at Barcelona–El Prat Airport, Paris-Orly Airport in Paris, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome. Vueling is the biggest airline in Spain, based on how many planes it has and how many places it flies to. As of 2021, Vueling flies to 122 places across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2019, it carried over 34 million passengers. Since 2013, Vueling has been part of International Airlines Group (IAG), which also owns airlines like British Airways and Iberia.

Vueling's Story: How It Started and Grew

Early Flights and Name Origin

Vueling started on February 10, 2004. Its first flight took off on July 1, 2004, flying from Barcelona to Ibiza. At first, Vueling had two Airbus A320 planes. These planes flew from Barcelona to places like Brussels, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, and Paris-CDG. The name "Vueling" comes from the Spanish word vuelo, which means "flight," combined with the English ending "ing."

In its early days, Vueling had several major owners. These included Apax Partners, Inversiones Hemisferio, Vueling's own management team, and V.A. Investor (from JetBlue Airways).

Growing Its Network

Vueling added Madrid as its second base in 2005. A base is like a main airport for an airline. In 2007, Vueling opened its first base outside Spain at Paris CDG. Later, in December 2009, Seville became another base.

Merging with Clickair

In June 2008, Vueling and another Spanish low-cost airline called Clickair decided to join forces. They wanted to create a stronger airline that could compete better in Spain. The new company kept the Vueling name, and Clickair's Alex Cruz became the chief executive. European regulators checked the merger carefully. They were worried that the combined airline would be too powerful on some routes. To get approval, Vueling had to give up some flight slots at Barcelona and other airports. The merger was completed on July 15, 2009. The new, bigger Vueling became the second-largest Spanish airline. In 2009, it flew 8.2 million passengers to almost 50 destinations.

Fun Partnerships: MTV and Music

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

In 2009, Vueling worked with MTV for the second year. Two of Vueling's A320 planes were painted with cool MTV designs. The famous designer Custo Dalmau created these looks. The MTV designs were removed at the end of 2009. In 2011, one plane even had a design based on the DJ David Guetta. These fun partnerships have since ended.

Expanding to New Cities

Vueling kept growing in the 2010s. In November 2010, it announced a new base in Toulouse Airport in France, which opened in April 2011. Another new base in Amsterdam also opened in April 2011. The Toulouse base later closed.

In January 2011, Vueling added nine more planes to its fleet. This included some Airbus A319 aircraft.

On March 21, 2012, Vueling announced that Rome would become a new base. This base opened on March 25, 2012, and Vueling has added many new routes from Rome since then. On December 5, 2012, Vueling also opened a new base in Florence.

Since November 2013, the airline has continued to expand from its main base in Barcelona. Vueling also opened a new base in Brussels in May 2014. At the same time, Vueling greatly expanded its base at Rome-Fiumicino. By mid-2014, eight planes were based there, flying to over 30 destinations. This made Rome-Fiumicino Vueling's second-biggest hub after Barcelona.

In July 2016, Vueling faced many flight delays and cancellations. This led to an investigation by Spanish authorities. Vueling also canceled some routes to Sheremetyevo International Airport, Vilnius Airport, and Rabat–Salé Airport. In October 2016, Vueling closed its bases in Brussels, Catania, and Palermo as part of changes to its operations.

In 2020, Vueling announced new routes connecting Paris and Dubrovnik, and Seville and Marrakesh.

Vueling's Business and Ownership

Financial Performance

Here's a quick look at how Vueling has performed over the years:

Becoming Part of IAG

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

In November 2012, International Airlines Group (IAG) wanted to buy more of Vueling. IAG already owned part of Vueling through its airline, Iberia. IAG, which also owns British Airways, hoped Vueling could help Iberia make more money. However, Vueling's value was growing, so IAG's first offer was too low. Vueling's shareholders were told to reject the offer.

On March 27, 2013, IAG made a better offer for Vueling shares. Vueling's shares quickly went up after this news. On April 9, 2013, Vueling's board of directors agreed that shareholders should accept the new offer. IAG's CEO, Willie Walsh, said that Vueling would stay a separate company within the IAG group.

On April 23, 2013, IAG officially took control of Vueling. IAG now owned most of Vueling's shares. Vueling still operates as its own company, but its CEO reports directly to IAG's CEO.

Vueling Club: Earning Travel Points

Vueling has a special program for frequent flyers called Vueling Club. This program lets members earn and use Avios points. You can use these points for free flights or discounts on Vueling and other IAG airlines like Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, and Level. You can also use Avios for flights with Oneworld airline partners. Vueling Club replaced Vueling's old program, Punto, in October 2017.

Where Vueling Flies

Countries in which Vueling operates as of March 2024

Vueling flies to many places across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

Partner Airlines

Vueling works with other airlines through "codeshare agreements." This means they can sell tickets on each other's flights. Vueling has agreements with:

• Aer Lingus
• British Airways
• Iberia
• Level
• LATAM Brasil
• Qatar Airways

Vueling's Aircraft Fleet

Vueling Airbus A320-200

Vueling Airbus A321-200

As of June 2023, Vueling uses the following types of aircraft:

Images for kids

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  Vueling Airbus A320-214 in MTV Livery at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (2008)

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

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  Vueling Airbus A320-200

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  Vueling Airbus A321-200

See also

In Spanish: Vueling Airlines para niños