Vueling [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums

TCX69

22nd Mar 2012, 21:29

Are there any new aircraft due to the airline and after JKK would there not be demand as they have added a lot but not so many aircraft.

Several Ex-JKK A320's are joining the Vueling fleet. All of which have been painted at DUB & will be delivered to BCN.

EI-EUF ex EC-IEJ to become EC-LQL. Delivery 30Mar
EI-EUK ex EC-INM to become EC-LQJ. Delivered 22Mar
EI-EUM ex EC-IVG to become EC-LQN. Delivery 27Mar
EI-EUN ex EC-IZK to become EC-LQM. Delivery 30Mar
EI-EUP ex EC-INC to become EC-LQK. Delivered 23Mar

No doubt more will follow!

Jamie2k9

23rd Mar 2012, 00:16

EI-EUK departed DUB for BCN at 22.24.

MKY661

27th Mar 2012, 19:51

EI-EUP ex EC-INC to become EC-LQK. Delivered 23Mar

Do you mean JNC?

MKY661

17th Jun 2012, 12:59

A few more Spanair aircraft have joined the Vueling fleet. Im not ure if any more are due but its a possibility. They have also now leased an A319 off Air Berlin and got one of Air Berlin too.

Would be nice to see vueling more in the UK market :)

MKY661

24th Sep 2012, 17:51

Vueling have announced new route from Malaga to Cardiff from 2nd April 2013 which will be operated by an A320 aircraft.

Heard also they have a 'large' order coming up shortly as well.

mathers_wales_uk

24th Sep 2012, 18:36

The article on todays Vueling launch of Summer 2013 routes to Cardiff can be found here (http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2012/09/24/vueling-launch-summer-2013/)

SecondDog

24th Sep 2012, 19:10

With all the Spanish links that Abertis have, is there no rumour of Vuelling coming to BFS? If they have survived Cardiff I'm sure they can manage in Belfast.

BHD2BFS

24th Sep 2012, 19:22

Don't be silly Belfast management only know how to talk to easyjet and scare other airlines off

fanrailuk

24th Sep 2012, 20:26

Interesting to see how successful and widely acknowledged for their efforts VY are... Vueling sweeps four awards at World Low Cost Airlines Congress (http://bit.ly/OmfkER)

PP :ok:

mathers_wales_uk

24th Sep 2012, 23:47

With all the Spanish links that Abertis have, is there no rumour of Vuelling coming to BFS? If they have survived Cardiff I'm sure they can manage in Belfast. Unfortunately it doesn't quite work like that and don't Cardiff Airport know it. easyjet is a customer at both Luton & Belfast Int but not Cardiff unless the weather is poor.

mathers_wales_uk

25th Sep 2012, 07:32

According to a recent find the Palma de Mallorca route from Cardiff Airport is still under evaluation. However regardless of this there will be a 35% increase in the number of seats offered from Cardiff Airport in Summer 2013 compared to this year.

Click to read article (http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/new-malaga-flight-from-cardiff-says-vueling/)

MKY661

25th Sep 2012, 15:19

Heard also they have a 'large' order coming up shortly as well.

Taken from the FlightCheck book i bought back earlier this month:

Low cost carrier Vueling has reiterated that it will make a long anticipated narrowbody order by the end of the summer.

Chief Executive officer Alex Cruz, speaking to analysists during a second quarter results call on 1st August said ''Our project continues. We are in phase three of out evaluation. We are on track and we hope to make a decision after the summer, maybe in September or October depending on the date of our board meeting.''

The Barcelona based airline has added 14 Airbus A320 family jets to its operation since the demise of Spanair earlier this year, taking its fleet to 55 A320's and three A319's. The majority of the new additions are on three year operating leases.

Vueling will end of the summer with a total fleet of 60 aircraft, but may need to renew its enture fleet at the beginning of 2015.

''We are pleased with data and proposals submitted by the three vendors Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier and we are still in the negotiation phase. It is an important project for Vueling'' says Cruz.

planenut321

16th Oct 2012, 15:55

Looks like a big announcement about the future of Vueling is happening at 6. New routes, fare system and aircraft set to be announced.

Vuelinglive (http://www.vuelinglive.com)

" The event "Dreaming. Flying. Growing." will reveal a change in the history of Vueling. Discover all the news from the company today October 16th at 19pm. Vuelinglive (http://www.vuelinglive.com) #vuelinglive "

Sorry just noticed there was a Vueling thread already, can the mods merge the 2.

LBIA

16th Oct 2012, 17:31

Spanish Low cost airline Vueling have this evening announced the 26 new routes from its Barcelona base.

March 31st
Barcelona – Dortmund = 4x weekly
Barcelona – Dresden = 4x weekly
Barcelona – Dusseldorf = 10x weekly
Barcelona – Frankfurt = 12x weekly
Barcelona – Fuerteventura = 2x weekly
Barcelona – Gothenburg = 3x weekly
Barcelona – Hanover = 3x weekly
Barcelona – London Gatwick = 14x weekly
Barcelona – Oslo = 4x weekly
Barcelona – Pamplona = 6x weekly
Barcelona – Rennes = 3x weekly
Barcelona – Stuttgart = 6x weekly
Barcelona – Valladolid = 4x weekly

April 1st
Barcelona – Bari = 4x weekly

April 2nd
Barcelona – Catania = 3x weekly

April 3rd
Barcelona – Banjul = 2x weekly
Barcelona – Bergen = 2x weekly

May 13th
Barcelona – Helsinki = 3x weekly

May 16th
Barcelona – Casablanca = 4x weekly
Barcelona – Tangier = 3x weekly

May 17th
Barcelona – Luxembourg = 4x weekly

May 19th
Barcelona – Fez = 2x weekly
Barcelona – Nador = 2x weekly

June 23rd
Barcelona – Rhodes = 2x weekly

June 24th
Barcelona – Sofia = 2x weekly

June 26th
Barcelona – Kos = 1x weekly

davidjohnson6

16th Oct 2012, 17:53

Barcelona is a nice city, but there are plenty of other cities in Europe which are both substantial and pleasant to visit.
Is it now becoming overserved in the European short haul market, and at risk of being a victim of over-hype if/when the bubble bursts ?

Discuss

insuindi

16th Oct 2012, 18:27

@DavidJohnson

worth discussion indeed.

Two points I'd like to throw in:
1) Many more Spanish people live now abroad than a few years ago (ever heard Spanish speakers outside London 5 years ago? Walk through the likes of Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester now...) due to the poor employment prospects in their home country. So it's not only BCN tourists / business visitors using these flights.
2) Above point will not justify this serious amount of additional capacity - agreed. So thinking about it earlier, I felt most comfortably with taking the view that this is a massive muscle exercise by IB&Co as owners of Vueling to defend their home turf against FR and EZY, the likes of 4U/LH from Germany, etc.

Tableview

16th Oct 2012, 18:44

I think you'll find that what's happening here is that Iberia are going to pull the few remaining international services they still have from BCN and make it a low cost hub for their inferior subsidiary Vueling. This will disgust the Catalans (OFSO where are you?).

Whilst it is hard to imagine that a product can be inferior to Iberia, Vueling achieves that. A great shame because until Iberia pulled them down into the gutter with them, they were a good carrier.

EI-BUD

16th Oct 2012, 19:22

Barcelona – London Gatwick = 14x weekly

Surprised at this choice, given BA's presence on the route (return to) and easyJet's position, this would not have been an obvious choice.

Be interesting to see how Ryanair react to Vueling's ambitious expansion plans outlined today.

EI-BUD

j636

16th Oct 2012, 20:08

Ryanair will have to made a announsment at BCN after this. I would expect that any airports that FR fly to will be added/moved from GRO at BCN.

airhumberside

16th Oct 2012, 20:24

Surprised at this choice, given BA's presence on the route (return to) and easyJet's position, this would not have been an obvious choice
Surprised at Gatwick or London in general? London is a major gap in the Vueling network from Barcelona. Then when you consider the fact Vueling also run a hub at BCN, London becomes a critical market for them IMO

I think you'll find that what's happening here is that Iberia are going to pull the few remaining international services they still have from BCN and make it a low cost hub for their inferior subsidiary Vueling.
Pull what? Right now IB mainline operate just one international service from BCN - Sao Paulo - and that is being axed at the end of this month anyway

(There are some IB regional routes from BCN as well, but is it IB or Air Nostrum who decides on these?)

EI-BUD

16th Oct 2012, 20:29

Surprised at Gatwick or London in general? London is a major gap in the
Vueling network from Barcelona. Then when you consider the fact Vueling also run
a hub at BCN, London becomes a critical market for them IMO

Yeah surprised at LGW, it will be hard fought. They are going into easyJet turf and I suspect that they will get a strong challenge from them. Yes it is a critical market, but if there is over capacity on LGW route is this going to be a viable route. Just my view.

airhumberside

16th Oct 2012, 20:35

Depends if Vueling look at BCN-LGW in isolation, or if they look at it in a wider 'network perspective'. Won't be easy for Vueling, but as the smallest operator on the route it's probably Monarch that will feel the pressure most

LGS6753

8th Nov 2012, 19:21

From The Telegraph:

International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways and Iberia, has mounted a €113m (£90m) offer to take full control of Spanish low-cost carrier, Vueling, as it looks to restructure its loss-making business in Spain.
The airlines giant already owns 45.85pc of Barcelona-based Vueling, Spain’s second largest domestic carrier, through Iberia. But IAG is offering €7 a share for the remaining stake, which will be acquired through a newly-created vehicle.
A €7-a-share offer would value the 54.15pc IAG doesn’t already own in Vueling at €113m. A deal on those terms would value Vueling at €209.3m, according to data from Reuters.
Analysts believe full ownership of Vueling would allow IAG to accelerate its expansion into the low-cost market in Spain after the roll-out of its low-cost brand, Iberia Express, was complicated by a dispute with pilots union SEPLA.
The Madrid government earlier this year appointed an arbitrator to resolve the conflict, which had led to costly strike action, but the Spanish High Court recently found that the arbitration process was flawed.
Analysts said a full ownership deal would potentially allow IAG to side-step the dispute over Iberia Express and feed its long-haul network through the Vueling business. IAG said Vueling would continue to be operated as a separate business and its chief executive would report directly to IAG boss Willie Walsh.
James Hollins, Investec analyst, said the airlines group could use Vueling’s 59-aircraft fleet “to effectively take a key role in the transformation of IAG’s Spanish short-haul programme, subsuming the nascent Iberia Express operations into its own”.
IAG unveiled the offer ahead of third-quarter results on Friday.
Unions expect the company to announce as many as 7,000 job cuts at Iberia, which made a €263m operating loss in the first half.

Jack1985

5th Dec 2012, 01:26

The company is expanding fairly rapidly now in Germany, Italy and Europe in General from Barcelona following on from France last year. Africa now seem's to be part of expansion and Florence seem's to have a single based aircraft from March 2013 with 4 new routes to Berlin, Copenhagen, Hamburg and London-Heathrow.

mathers_wales_uk

5th Dec 2012, 09:17

They are also expanding into the UK.

Edingburgh, Cardiff, Gatwick & Heathrow will all have flights in Summer 2013. I believe Southampton did have flights in Summer 2012 but unsure if they are returning in 2013.

And reports from passengers using them at Cardiff is that they are a verry good airline.

BHD2BFS

5th Dec 2012, 10:11

Any chance of a BFS-MAD route if they are expanding in the UK?

Jack1985

5th Dec 2012, 14:40

I believe Southampton did have flights in Summer 2012 but unsure if they are returning in 2013.

Vueling will not be returning to Southampton in 2013; Flybe have since taken up the route.

Any chance of a BFS-MAD route if they are expanding in the UK?

In my own view this will not happen. They are concentrating expansion from Barcelona at the moment with expansion also taking place at Bilbao, Florence and Malaga.

Bournemouth Air

13th Jan 2013, 10:27

Visiting yesterday was a Vyeling A320 having talks with Bournemouth Airport.

Picture of the visiting Airbus with Thank you titles HERE (http://www.flickr.com/photos/28132040@N07/8369568495/)

Aero Mad

13th Jan 2013, 11:06

With all due respect to Bournemouth, why does Vueling feel it could make a route from Barcelona worth it when it couldn't even sustain one to Southampton (which is better connected)?

Buster the Bear

13th Jan 2013, 21:11

Why would you fly an empty A320 into Hurn for 'talks'?

Le Tirer

13th Jan 2013, 21:57

So if it wasn't 'for talks' what was the reason for flying an empty A320 into Hurn
and out again a few hours later?

It arrived from Barcelona with a positioning flight call sign VLG905P, stayed by the terminal for 6 hours and returned to Barcelona as VLG906P.

Any more plausible suggestions?

LT

CabinCrewe

13th Jan 2013, 22:50

charter? . . . . .

GuilhasXXI

13th Jan 2013, 23:01

Flying empty planes isn´t that akward, in Portugal in high season, TAP Portugal fly several empty planes to Madeira Island and they comeback fully loaded with cargo and passengers, I when I say several, I remember on the 1st of January, thay had planes leaving Madeira Island each 15 minutes (and yes I´m only talking about TAP, not easyJet or some other airline..)

Le Tirer

14th Jan 2013, 07:12

The replies so far seem to be missing the point of why this flight seemed unusual. As far as I know, and I may be wrong, it flew empty in both directions. So unlikely to be a charter and it was not positioning in empty to pick up passengers (nor bringing in passengers and flying out empty).

LT

ericlday

14th Jan 2013, 08:11

So if it flew in empty, then Flight Deck must be doing the so called 'route' negotiations !!!!

Expressflight

14th Jan 2013, 08:13

It certainly does appear to have been 'empty' on both sectors so while it does seem somewhat extravagant for their commercial people to visit BOH in that way, it must be a possibility I suppose. It's point of departure and destination from BOH might give a clue, if anyone knows.

And before anyone gets excited about the Vueling A320 which arrived at SEN a few days ago, it was for maintenance with ATC Lasham. I did speak with Vueling at last year's French Connect about SEN, but only to acquaint them with the developments there and I don't think any operational interest actually exists.

mathers_wales_uk

14th Jan 2013, 10:43

Vueling have been expanding in the UK.

Cardiff - Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga & Palma
Edinburgh - Barcelona
Gatwick - Barcelona
Heathrow - A Coruña, Bilbao, Florence, Palma

I believe in 2012 they did operate Southampton to Barcelona which was pulled. I would not be suprised to see additional Sun routes to be added in the UK for 2014.

fjencl

14th Jan 2013, 15:00

Maybe they may decide to open a UK base as well.

bycrewlgw

15th Jan 2013, 05:41

Could it not be a ghost flight to keep slots active in BCN? BA used to fly into CWL in order to keep certain slots at LHR.

On the other hand, there's no reason why a BOH to BCN couldn't work on a summer basis.

Cyrano

15th Jan 2013, 08:48

Could it not be a ghost flight to keep slots active in BCN? BA used to fly into CWL in order to keep certain slots at LHR.
A one-off flight in the middle of the season seems unlikely to be a slot preservation exercise. In any case, even if Vueling were doing this for slot reasons, I think they could find a closer airport to BCN than BOH... ;)

mathers_wales_uk

15th Jan 2013, 11:49

Could it not be a ghost flight to keep slots active in BCN? BA used to fly into CWL in order to keep certain slots at LHR.

I remember those flights well. It was actually BMED who were operating as a franchise of BA at the time before being purchased by bmi.

I certainly would not rule out a BOH-BCN route and if I recall correctly Vueling didn't announce their Summer 2012 CWL-ALC & CWL-PMI until mid/late January 2012.

I did find an article today that stated Vueling were to lease four additional A320 to be delieverd in time for 2013 season but unsure if this is for further expansion yet to be released or for current schedules. Source (http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/vueling-leases-four-a320s-from-boc-aviation/)

MARKEYD

15th Jan 2013, 16:45

If there is a possibility of Vuelling operating from Bournemouth this summer it might well be to another route rather than Barcelona ?

Palma , Malaga and Alicante are all good money earners and especially Alicante which was well underserved by Ryanair last year following there " Air Bridge Spat " and a very popular destination from Bournemouth

Jack1985

23rd Feb 2013, 13:53

2 new seasonal routes from their Hub at Barcelona BCN to Kiev Zhulyany IEV from 28 May 2013 and to Reykjavik (Keflavik) KEF from 20 June 2013.

MKY661

3rd Mar 2013, 14:46

Vueling will be one of the first European airlines to get Airbus A320's with sharklets. :)

merchant sailors

4th Mar 2013, 17:06

So what does the sharklet do in terms of range? does it enable the airline to extend their ops further or is it simply for fuel savings? are there any A320's with sharklets doing long range flights over water from the US to Hawaii for example, as this may be ETOPS

mathers_wales_uk

14th Mar 2013, 11:38

Vueling increases capacity at Cardiff Airport for Summer 2013

Vueling has increased the Malaga-Cardiff service to 4 x weekly from 7th August for several weeks due to demand. Also there are one or two additional flights on the Alicante-Cardiff also.

Official press release (http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/vueling-expand-summer-services/)

LAX_LHR

14th Mar 2013, 12:29

Mathers,

its not a link to the 'official' press release, is it? Its a link to your own blog.....again.
:ugh:

(http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/vueling-expand-summer-services/)

(http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/vueling-expand-summer-services/)

TSR2

14th Mar 2013, 13:15

its not a link to the 'official' press release, is it? Its a link to your own blog.....again

Mmm ... nice bit of indirect advertising as well.

StoneyBridge Radar

14th Mar 2013, 14:08

Oh look, another PPRuNe thread with a link to the Wales Air Forum.

Just waiting for a link now to another official press release about scrapping B747s in Snowdonia.... :rolleyes:

caaardiff

14th Mar 2013, 14:58

Official press release....

Vueling expand Summer services - Cardiff Airport (http://www.tbicardiffairport.com/en/news/8/317/vueling-expand-summer-services.html)

Regardless of where the announcement came from, its still a good sign for CWL with VY being a relatively unknown Airline within the UK.
The strength of the holiday routes from CWL could lead to them looking into other markets within the UK from Spain.
SOU was tried and failed. EDI maintained BCN and a few other routes from London isn't exactly a big operation yet.
VY offers some well priced connections that could rival some of the bigger carriers.

Zag23

14th Mar 2013, 17:42

Would like to see them on BFS- ALC. Since Aer Lingus left it, easyjet have been screwing everyone against the wall.:mad: Fares up by 80% on 2012.

AirGuru

14th Mar 2013, 17:48

Vueling are a great airline ! Im already booked on for a flight CWL-PMI in the Summer, looking forward to my first experience with them.
Online check-in is available for ALL flights from CWL this year, unlike last year, which will further add to the passenger experience.

Good to see their faith in the CWL market, AGP goes from 3x weekly to 4x weekly from the start of august until the end of the peak summer season. Also, a few ALC's have been added here and there around the easter period. A quick dummy booking would reveal that AGP is doing remarkably well ;). In fact, VY and the airport have said they are very happy with it all.

Could see more from CWL and indeed the UK as a whole next Summer !

Zag23

14th Mar 2013, 18:20

What is the brand awareness like in Wales? What has the advertising been like?

AirGuru

14th Mar 2013, 18:38

Brand awareness is ever increasing, and a large amount of advertising has taken place, both this year and last year. The ticket barriers at both Swansea and Cardiff Central stations are plastered in the Vueling 'Escape the rain' campaign, along with advertising on buses throughout south wales, and indeed at the millenium stadium during the autumn internationals and this years Six Nations.

Also, a Visit Wales campaign has been launched recently in Catalonia to help boost the BCN route, along with a TV advert which is to be shown in Catalan.

In all fairness the hard work put in by the airport (CWL) and the airline (VY) looks to have hopefully paid off !

Buster the Bear

14th Mar 2013, 22:19

So now IAG cannot buy out Vueling 100%, does this leave the 737-400 replacement at Gatwick in some doubt?

Cyrano

14th Mar 2013, 22:28

So now IAG cannot buy out Vueling 100%, does this leave the 737-400 replacement at Gatwick in some doubt?

I didn't think that IAG "couldn't" buy out Vueling, just that the rising Vueling share price meant that IAG's latest offer wasn't attractively priced and hence the Vueling board rejected it. Apart from negotiating posturing, I don't see any absolute reason why IAG couldn't offer a higher price if they wanted to.

Omnipresent

15th Mar 2013, 09:09

Unless I've missed something, Vueling management said they could not recommend the offer as it was too low, but the decision to accept the offer is one for the shareholders rather than management.

Now IAG has managed to largely achieve what it wanted with restructuring Iberia, I'm not sure if this also changes things. I think they'll still want to add Vueling to the IAG portfolio but there is probably less urgency on IAG's part.

StoneyBridge Radar

15th Mar 2013, 10:48

So now IAG cannot buy out Vueling 100%, does this leave the 737-400 replacement at Gatwick in some doubt?

I think you're jumping the gun here Buster old bean.

Vueling management see Vueling's future (and their golden handshakes, no doubt) with IAG.

The sticking point has been the fact speculators have artificially elevated Vueling's share price so that its current market cap makes IAG's offer seem somewhat lacking.

The deal will happen. The question is whether IAG will bite the bullet and pay over the odds (which I doubt, considering the extra cost of the revised Iberia streamlining IAG now have to fund) or whether they will wait for the short speculators to lose patience, move on and allow the stock price to return to more realistic levels.

Still not sure why people are connecting Vueling with the Gatwick fleet. Seems only on here and a.net does such talk have any credence; certainly not amongst BA bods... :ooh:

yotty

22nd Mar 2013, 12:00

Stoney, I suspect the inference is that why would BA stump up for a new shiny fleet of a/c for LGW if there were plans for Vueling to operate the LGW hub for BA? :cool:

Buster the Bear

22nd Mar 2013, 13:55

It was the rumour I was told from a normally reliable source and certainly not made up by me, nor did I read it elsewhere. I guess they could always start up a new airline, how about BAby to rival Little Red?

mathers_wales_uk

28th Mar 2013, 11:08

Vueling scoops Value Airline of the Year accolade at the ATW Awards held in Washington D.C.

Vueling, the leading airline at Barcelona-El Prat Airport, was last night heralded Value Airline of the Year at the 39th annual ATW Awards, held in Washington D.C. The awards are organized annually by Air Transport World magazine, a leading monthly title serving the airline and commercial aircraft manufacturing and support industries.

Sourced - Wales Air Forum. (http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/vueling-scoops-value-airline-of-the-year-accolade-at-the-atw-awards-held-in-washington-d-c/)

This joins the four awarded by the World Low Cost Airline Congress. (Airline of the year, best business traveller airline, best sales and distributution strategy and best customer loyalty scheme).

Sourced - Wales Air Forum. (http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2012/10/02/vueling-sweep-the-board-at-major-airline-awards/http://)

AirGuru

4th Apr 2013, 15:57

Could we some sort of small base at CWL next year ? Rumour has it that routes are doing very well. Backed up by the fact they have increased AGP to 4x weekly from Aug-Sep.
Disappointing that IAG want them under their belt, i feel VY are one of a few remaining very well run airlines out there constantly driving profit. The Competition Commission has approved a takeover, now its upto the VY board to decide by the 19th April on a deal that values Vueling at around EUR280 Million

Jack1985

4th Apr 2013, 19:08

Rumour has it

Precisely, just that. It seems to be that all airlines are doing massively well ex-Cardiff but then somehow aren't expanding at Cardiff.

well run airlines out there constantly driving profit.

Fair point but their profit could be a lot higher as could be the load factor which still remains below 80% (77.7% - FY12). Last year though revenue did increase substantially as did profit against FY11 but as per your motion of them launching a base at Cardiff I don't see this happening at least in the short-term, they're current model of building a massive connection hub ex-Barcelona seems to be working and making them money they'll keep pursuing this. Also the fact that the majority of the catchment area in the SW uses Bristol is probably a major stumbling block to any carrier looking to duplicate routes which currently operate out of Bristol, this would only see airlines operating at lower yields i.e. bmibaby particularly with regards routes which aren't leisure focused.

mathers_wales_uk

4th Apr 2013, 23:49

It will be interesting how things develop especially as the Spanish regulator has now approved IAG's Vueling offer. Sourced - Wales Air Forum (http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/spanish-regulator-approves-iags-vueling-offer/)

Also the fact that the majority of the catchment area in the SW uses Bristol is probably a major stumbling block to any carrier looking to duplicate routes which currently operate out of Bristol, this would only see airlines operating at lower yields i.e. bmibaby particularly with regards routes which aren't leisure focused.

I see where your coming from here however Vueling prices are already competitive compared to EasyJet prices from Bristol and of course nobody knows what deal Vueling are currently having at Cardiff.

Many of the residents of South Wales fly from Bristol & Birmingham as the low cost flights they require are just simply not available at Cardiff Airport. As the Vueling brand continues to be known throughout South Wales the demand will surely increase but obviously only to a certain degree.

Vueling are happy with the support they are receiving from Cardiff Airport especially with the advertising campaign throughout South Wales paid for by the airport.

Vueling of course do have a connection hub at Barcelona and of course it is an important part of their product however they do offer a number of point to point destinations which can also be lucrative for them.

Of course any base will not be huge and possible single aircraft only during the summer as I believe there are not sufficient routes to operate a base during the winter at the present time.

mathers_wales_uk

10th Apr 2013, 09:04

Vueling accpets takeover bid from IAG so it will be interesting to see what happens now.

Drink Up Thee Cider

12th Apr 2013, 09:15

Intersting is dead right, Mather, but I'm not sure its CWL........

Apparently, Vueling are showing interest in buying one of the bigger slot portfolios at LGW. With their cost base, EZY might actually be given a run for their money at LGW. My understanding is that Vueling's top man was in Dublin yesterday to discuss. :hmm:

Hangar6

12th Apr 2013, 09:26

Well the visit was more to catch up with WW who along with a wide variety of airline heads was at conference , but we could continue the rumours ....

WW and Mol met to discuss T/a options .

Some good articles on the seminar on google

Cyrano

12th Apr 2013, 09:28

My understanding is that Vueling's top man was in Dublin yesterday to discuss. :hmm:

He was in Dublin to speak at an airline conference (something he does from time to time ;) ).

Drink Up Thee Cider

12th Apr 2013, 09:53

He was in Dublin to speak at an airline conference (something he does from time to time http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/wink2.gif ).

Conferences are useful for catching up with folk, eh? ;)

Omnipresent

12th Apr 2013, 22:31

Vueling may have plans for LGW but I can't see BA pulling out of LGW short-haul entirely.

Vueling is a success in its own right and is a leverage for IAG to pressure BA and IB to make short-haul profitable but I don't foresee Vueling simply replacing BA short-haul at LGW.

canberra97

13th Apr 2013, 07:39

All this talk of Vueling supposedly taking over the short haul operation of BA out of LGW is stupid talk as I for one can not see it happening maybe on the Spanish routes but that's about it and the BA brand means alot something that Vueling name doe's not to the UK consumer!

Am sure Skipness would disagree though as he hates anything regarding BA at LGW!

mathers_wales_uk

13th Apr 2013, 09:42

Is it daft to suggest that at Gatwick British Airways may need to move to a more closer Vueling type of operation?

My reason for suggesting this is that in a recent survey by international aviation group CAPA where Vueling labour costs were second best at 8.6pc. Also Vueling was best at the amount of revenue generated for each employee on the books where it stands at €629,566.

Vueling offers a brilliant award winning service as I have mentioned in the past and it's on-board product is excellent and due to improve with proposals of wi-fi being introduced on board. They are still a very young airline however are growing and certainly their UK brand will only improve year on year as they expand.

To compete at Gatwick what would be better for British Airways to continue as they are with fleet renewal, move to a Vueling style operation by competing with the low cost airline while offering a superior product or simply move Vueling in and codeshare on all their UK flights similar to what Iberia do on their Vueling flights to/from Spain?

Some may think i'm off my rocker however there is some logic there regardless of how little it may be.

VickersVicount

13th Apr 2013, 11:45

"move to a Vueling style operation by competing with the low cost airline while offering a superior product"
There lies the problem. With current BA contracts there would need to be significant changes to become a low cost model. Fragmented arrangements such as a low cost model at LGW and a different offering at LHR in the long term would never work.

irishcc

13th Apr 2013, 12:00

Maybe we will just see better schedules and aircraft usage if both BA and Vueling coordinate/cooperate with certain routes.

BA on the LGW AGP route seems to be doing well, maybe we may see Vueling add an early morning AGP LGW etc.

Aksai Oiler

13th Apr 2013, 12:11

Some of us using the BA AGP-LGW route for business would prefer to see one rotation from LHR so we can connect; even 4 days a week would be fine.

Skipness One Echo

13th Apr 2013, 13:09

Am sure Skipness would disagree though as he hates anything regarding BA at LGW!
If you read more you should apologise for that. I loved BA at Gatters. The staff were friendlier than LHR and until T5 the facilities superior. However in the past two decades, since the Dan Air sale, I think I'm right in saying they haven't turned a profit once on short haul. This was accepted as LGW was built up as a second hub, however once this concept failed, there's nowhere left to hide. They've cut costs further so that all franchises and subtypes were removed, choice of business destinations has collapsed and focus was changed to sun routes against EZY. Now that's fine if coupled with outsourcing all ramp staff the operation makes money, we shall see. My main gripe is that a good operation is a shell of it's former self. One can taxi into LGW without clapping eyes on a single BA aircraft some nights. There's nowhere left to go now, the last gasp was the promise of NEW aircraft if staff accepeted yet another round of cuts. They got ex BMI A319s that LHR business customers found too tight in the legroom dept up front. I'm not interested in dreamers and what people say, I've had two decades of watching what they DO.

Great airport, great staff, good airline, no love at BA for LGW short haul.

As to Vueling being unknown? Franchise them :)as BAExpress, bookable on ba.com a la GO.

MKY661

13th Apr 2013, 16:28

Some of us using the BA AGP-LGW route for business would prefer to see one rotation from LHR so we can connect; even 4 days a week would be fine.

BA used to do LHR-AGP. Then LGW got dropped. Later on they announced they were to stop LHR ad Bring LGW back. BA do however operafte flights from LHR to GIB which isn't too far away. :)

Aksai Oiler

13th Apr 2013, 22:55

Unfortunately from where I live, its a lot easier to get to AGP (1 hr) than GIB (2 1/2 hrs). Anyway we live in hope that they will at least make an effort one day to give us a Heathrow flight. The Vueling SVQ-LHR was great, just a shame VY dropped it for BIO

mathers_wales_uk

24th Apr 2013, 10:22

IAG finalises Vueling takeover - Article - Wales Air Forum (http://walesairforum.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/iag-finalises-vueling-takeover/)

IAG purchase of Vueling is set to be completed by the end of April and it has been stated that there will be no changes at Vueling.

Vueling will remain a stand alone company and CEO Alex Cruz will now report directly to IAG chief chief executive Willie Walsh.

Walsh said: “Vueling is a great airline and will be a welcome addition to IAG where it will benefit from the group’s financial strength.

“We plan to retain Vueling’s current business model and management structure and its strong base in Barcelona.”

LGS6753

15th Aug 2013, 08:52

IAG eyes Vueling expansion with Airbus A320 orders - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10244122/IAG-eyes-Vueling-expansion-with-Airbus-A320-orders.html)

CSman

15th Aug 2013, 09:11

I suspect that in the not to distant future IAGwill be made up of 3 Sections
BA all Long Haul [World wide]
Iberia All Long Haul [South America]
Vueling All Short haul that is presently flown by both BA and Iberia

HH6702

15th Aug 2013, 09:39

Vueling to link UK airports to Bcn also maybe

Ncl
Gla
Bhx
Man

Would maybe take away some of the pressure off LHR and take on easyjet?

mathers_wales_uk

15th Aug 2013, 10:27

All Vueling flights currently display an Iberia codeshare flight number and flights are available on the Iberia website.

How long will it be until a BA flight number is added and flights available on the BA website if not allready?

Of course there is a small matter of Iberia Express to merge too with a fleet of 18 x A320.

As long as they keep adding capacity at CWL they can do what they like ;-)

MKY661

20th Aug 2013, 14:41

As long as they keep adding capacity at CWL they can do what they like ;-)

Hopefully they will expand well there after the loss of Bmibaby :)

Maybe we might see Vueling have a big expansion in the UK :)

AirGuru

20th Aug 2013, 15:15

Well yes that's the theory, although it has been a few years since the loss of all the Baby routes, and no-one has really stepped in, apart from Vueling, who spotted a gap in the market and launched no doubt the best performing routes from the past Baby operations, which included PMI and ALC, with AGP added as a further suggestion from CWL management.

For next year, we are hoping to see further expansion from Vueling at CWL with another route or two being added to the network, and maybe some frequency enhancements (maybe). FAO and IBZ are the ones being touted at present, but there is no reason why MAH cannot be added into this as well. Another route operated from CWL in the past that went well was MJV, but Vueling do not have a base there, so for CWL to have that sort of route, a W pattern would be required.

Nonetheless, onwards and upwards to a brighter future. And yes we will almost certainly see more of Vueling in the UK for Summer 2014 and even into 2015.