Vueling Archives – London Air Travel

Vueling Launches Gatwick – Alicante

Vueling is to launch a new route from London Gatwick to Alicante from early April 2019.

Vueling Airbus A320 (Image Credit: Vueling)

Vueling is to launch a new route from London Gatwick to Alicante from early April 2019.

The airline will fly to Alicante, a route well served from London, six times weekly from Sunday 7 April 2019.

Flights are on sale now at Vueling.

It is assumed that a codeshare with BA, which also flies to Alicante from Gatwick, will soon become available.

Vueling has not had a great time of late, with significant operational delays in the summer, partly due to periodic industrial action by Air Traffic Controllers in Marseille.

It has also had a slightly haphazard approach to the London market with routes spread across Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton with no coherent marketing message.

Vueling also flies from Gatwick to Barcelona, Bilbao, Florence, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Rome. It also serves Asturias on a summer seasonal basis and this route returns three times weekly from Tuesday 2 April 2019. From Heathrow, Vueling serves A Coruña and Barcelona, and from Luton it serves Amsterdam and Florence.

Vueling has recently acquired Flybe’s last remaining Gatwick slots. The times below don’t match the exact times of Flybe’s slots and more slots will be acquired from late October so it’s assumed further routes may follow.
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Vueling Launches Gatwick – Santiago de Compostela

London Air Travel » Vueling

Vueling continues its steady, if slightly haphazard, expansion in the UK with the launch of a new route from London Gatwick to Santiago de Compostela, the capital of northwest Spain’s Galicia region. The route operates from Wednesday 30 March 2016.

The airline will fly to Santiago de Compostela Airport from London Gatwick’s South Terminal three times a week.

Flights are on sale now at Vueling.com

Flight VY7389 Depart London Gatwick 20:30 – Arrive Santiago de Compostela 23:30 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Flight VY7388 Depart Santiago de Compostela 18:35 – Arrive London Gatwick 19:40 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

On other days, indirect routings are available via Vueling’s hub in Barcelona.

Vueling has a growing presence in the UK, and specifically London, albeit without a natural base.

From London Gatwick, Vueling also flies to Barcelona, Bilbao, Paris (Charles de Gaulle), Rome-Fiumicino, and Florence. From Heathrow, Vueling flies to La Coruña and Barcelona. This summer, Vueling will also fly from London Luton to Barcelona and Amsterdam.

Vueling is part of International Airlines Group with British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus. Vueling’s flights to Santiago de Compostela can also be booked as codeshares with BA and Iberia.

Update January 2018: Vueling will suspend this route from Friday 23 March 2018. easyJet will fly the route on Wednesday and Saturday from Wednesday 28 March 2018.

BA, Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling to roll-out in flight WiFi

London Air Travel » Vueling

International Airlines Group - Aer Lingus, BA, Iberia, Vueling — International Airlines Group – Aer Lingus, BA, Iberia, Vueling

International Airlines Group has today confirmed that WiFi will be rolled out across the short-haul and long-haul aircraft of its airlines: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling.

To date, IAG airlines have adopted a piecemeal approach to WiFi. BA has WiFi on just one Boeing 747. Aer Lingus has WiFi on its transatlantic Airbus A330s. Iberia and Vueling also have WiFi on some aircraft.

On short-haul aircraft IAG is expected to adopt an Inmarsat “Air To Ground” system which should deliver fast internet access speeds. The first aircraft will be in service by 2017.

On long-haul aircraft, new deliveries of Airbus A330 (to Aer Lingus & Iberia), Airbus A350 (to British Airways and Iberia) and Boeing 787-10 (to British Airways) are expected to be fitted with WiFi.

IAG will also aim to retrofit 100 long-haul aircraft (primarily British Airways aircraft) with WiFi. IAG will target rolling out WiFi to 90% of long-haul aircraft by 2019.

The fit-out of WiFi on long-haul aircraft is likely to be subject to IAG being satisfied that the technology is sufficiently robust for the global long-haul networks of BA and Iberia and the cost of retrofitting aircraft makes the investment worthwhile

IAG has not yet indicated what pricing model it will adopt for WiFi, which is likely to vary by airline.

As well as providing passengers with in flight internet access and the opportunity for new In Flight Entertainment services, it will be interesting to see what customer service initiatives will arise as consequence of equipping cabin crews will in flight internet access.

Image courtesy of International Airlines Group

Vueling demonstrates its value to IAG with a strong set of 1st Quarter results

London Air Travel » Vueling

Although Vueling is now majority owned by International Airlines Group (“IAG”), the airline remains a listed entity and it has today published its results for the 1st quarter of 2013.

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International Airlines Group gains control of Vueling

London Air Travel » Vueling

International Airlines Group (“IAG”) confirmed today that its offer to acquire the 54% of Vueling’s shares that it does not already own has been accepted by the majority of Vueling’s shareholders.

This means that IAG will control just under 91% of Vueling, effectively giving it control of the airline. Vueling will officially become part of IAG from Friday 26 April 2013.

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What does International Airlines Group have planned for Vueling?

London Air Travel » Vueling

The offer by International Airlines Group (“IAG”) to acquire the 54% of Vueling’s shares that it does not already own expired on Friday 19 April 2013.

The airline group initially made an offer priced at €7.00 per share which Vueling management chose not to recommend. IAG subsequently increased its offer to €9.25 per share. However, the minimum acceptance level was reduced to just 4.16% of Vueling’s capital to leave IAG with at least overall control of Vueling, if not 100% ownership.

Assuming the transaction completes this will be the second airline acquired by IAG since its formation in 2011 and the third member airline of the group (the first acquisition, bmi, being subsumed into British Airways).

Why is IAG so interested in Vueling and what does it have planned?

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