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Vueling

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Vueling
IATA ICAO Call sign
VY VLG VUELING
Founded2004
Operating bases
List of bases
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programPunto / Iberia Plus
Fleet size88
Destinations108
Parent companyIAG (97.52%) [1]
HeadquartersEl Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
Key peopleAlex Cruz (CEO)
Josep Piqué (Chairman)
RevenueIncrease €1,102.6 million (2012)[2]
Operating incomeIncrease €40.1 million (2012)[2]
Net incomeIncrease €28.3 million (2012)[2]
Total assetsIncrease €435.2 million (2012)[2]
Total equityDecrease €237.2 million (2012)[2]
Websitewww.vueling.com
Vueling's head office in El Prat de Llobregat, Spain
MTV Livery Airbus A320-214 at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, France (2008)

Vueling Airlines, S.A. (styled as Vueling, Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbwelin]; BMAD: VLG) is a Spanish low-cost airline based at El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona with hubs in Barcelona–El Prat Airport and Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy. Its name comes from the Spanish word Vuelo, which means flight. There are thirteen additional bases at A Coruña, Alicante, Amsterdam, Bilbao, Brussels, Florence, Madrid, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-Orly, Seville and Valencia. A fourteenth summer seasonal base is located at Ibiza.

Vueling serves over 100 destinations in Africa, Asia and Europe and is currently the second largest airline in Spain.[3] In 2012, the airline carried nearly 14.8 million passengers (an increase of 20.1% from 2011), with a load factor of 77.7%.[4]

History

Early years

Vueling was established in February 2004 and commenced operations on 1 July 2004 with a flight between Barcelona and Ibiza. The initial fleet consisted of two Airbus A320 aircraft, based in Barcelona serving Brussels, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.[5]

Initially, major shareholders of Vueling Airlines were Apax Partners (40%), Inversiones Hemisferio (Grupo Planeta) (30%), Vueling's management team (23%) and V.A. Investor (JetBlue Airways) (7%). During its nascent stages, the company's general manager was Lázaro Ros, while Carlos Muñoz was CEO. In November 2007, Vueling appointed managing director of Spanair Lars Nygaard as CEO to replace Carlos Muñoz, who remained as a member of the Board of Directors.

Madrid was added as the airline's second base in 2005, followed by their first base outside Spain at Paris Charles de Gaulle in 2007. Seville followed in December 2007.

Financial concerns and management re-shuffle

2007 was a difficult year for Vueling; Apax Partners sold their then 21% stake in the carrier in June of that year, followed by two profit warnings issued in August and October. Two company directors and the chairman resigned shortly before the second profit warning, citing differences over commercial strategy.[6] Shares in the company were also temporarily suspended.[7]

This led to Barbara Cassani, former Chief Executive of UK low-cost airline Go Fly, joining Vueling as chairman of the board in September 2007. The airline then embarked on a restructuring exercise and posted its first profit in mid-2009.[8]

Vueling and Clickair merger

In June 2008, Vueling and rival Spanish low cost airline Clickair announced their intention to merge. The merger was designed to create a carrier better able to compete in the competitive Spanish airline market and mitigate high fuel costs with Iberia as the main industrial partner. While the new company would trade under the Vueling name, Clickair's Alex Cruz was named as chief executive.[9][10]

The deal was subject to scrutiny and approval by European competition regulators, who were concerned that the merged airline would have a significant competitive advantage on around 19 routes. The regulators demanded the release of slots at Barcelona and other European airports as a condition of the merger.[11]

On 15 July 2009 the merger of Vueling and Clickair was completed.[10] The new merged airline operates under the Vueling brand, with Clickair flights and aircraft re-branded under the Vueling name. It became the second largest Spanish carrier flying 8.2 million passengers in 2009,[12] to almost 50 destinations.

Co-operation with MTV

In 2009, Vueling for the second year running co-operated with MTV during the summer season.[13] Two of Vueling's A320 aircraft (EC-KDG[14] and EC-KDH[15]) were re-painted into MTV liveries with some MTV styling on-board too. The designs of both liveries were created by Custo Dalmau and both liveries were removed at the end of 2009.[16] In the summer season of 2010, EC-KDG[15] had again been re-painted into an MTV livery, and in 2011 it was re-painted into a livery based on the DJ and producer David Guetta; the livery has since been removed and co-operation with MTV has since ended.

Recent developments

In November 2010, Vueling announced a new base at Toulouse Airport in France from April 2011,[17] followed in December 2010 by the announcement of a new base in Amsterdam, also to open during April 2011. The Toulouse base opened on 23 April 2011, but has since closed.[18]

In January 2011 further expansion was announced with Vueling adding a further nine aircraft to its fleet, including Airbus A319 aircraft. Six Airbus A320s were delivered between April and June 2011, whilst the remaining two A320s were delivered by the end of 2011.[19]

On 21 March 2012 it was announced by CEO Alex Cruz that Rome would be added as a new base. The base launched on 25 March 2012 with one aircraft based there, the airline has since expanded at Rome with numerous new destinations.[20]

On 5 December 2012, Vueling announced the opening of a new base of operations in Florence, the carrier is to base one aircraft there and serve four new European destinations.[21]

On 25 October 2013, Vueling opens its first Italian domestic route: Florence-Catania.

On 6 November 2013, Vueling announced a new base with one aircraft in Brussels, with 7 new destinations from May 2014, coming in addition to the four existing destinations.[22]

The airline has since focused expansion on its hub at Barcelona and continues to grow there rapidly along with creating new routes at most bases.[23]

On November 2013 Vueling announced expansion from Rome-Fiumicino: from Summer 2014 will be based 8 aircraft and will be operated more than 30 routes: Rome-Fiumcino will become the second airline hub.

Corporate affairs

The key trends for Vueling over recent years are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):

Vueling A320-232 with Sharklets takes off from Rome-Fiumicino, Italy (2013)
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Turnover (€m) 437 598 790 856 1,103 1,404
Net Profit before tax (€m) −38.6 40.2 65.7 14.9 40.1 132.6
Net Profit (€m) 8.5 27.8 46.0 10.4 28.3 93.4
Number of employees (at year end) 1,013 1,195 1,266 1,389 1,774 1,937
Number of passengers (m) 5.9 8.2 11.0 12.3 14.8 17.2
Passenger load factor (%) 70.3 73.7 73.2 75.6 77.7 79.6
Number of aircraft (average) 21 26 36 44 53 64
Notes/sources [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]

Executives

IAG takeover (2012/2013)

In November 2012, International Airlines Group, whose subsidiary Iberia held a 45.85% stake in Vueling, offered to buy the remaining 54.15% of the company with both Iberia and IAG owning both shares and not resulting in the company being wholly owned by IAG through 100% of shares. IAG, also the owner of British Airways, plans to use Vueling to help stem losses at Iberia. However, market trends (increased profits and improved figures from Vueling resulting in a higher share-price) had made IAG's offer a significant undervaluation of the airline. Vueling had urged its shareholders to reject IAG's offer and its shareholders had until the 8th of April 2013 to decide upon the recommendation.[3]

On 27 March 2013, IAG improved its offer for Vueling, raising its offer per share from €7 to €9.25. Vueling shares quickly surged after the announcement by 8.8% to €9.23 following a temporary suspension as BMAD waited on an official comment from Vueling regarding the updated offer. The acceptance period was also increased by 48 calendar days.[31]

On 9 April 2013, the board of Vueling unanimously recommended shareholders accept an improved offer of €9.25 per share from IAG. IAG CEO Willie Walsh confirmed that the board had recommended the new offer; however, Walsh also stated that Vueling would not be merged with Iberia, saying, "Vueling will operate as a stand-alone entity in IAG group."[32]

On 23 April 2013, IAG acquired control of Vueling which saw the recently purchased 44.66% stake by IAG merged with Iberia's existing 45.85% stake to form a 90.51% shareholding. Vueling will remain a standalone company now within the IAG and its management structure will remain unchanged; however, Vueling's CEO Alex Cruz will now report directly to IAG CEO Willie Walsh.[33]

Frequent flyer programmes

Vueling offers two frequent flyer programmes. Punto (Spanish for point) allows you to collect points and then exchange them for flights to any Vueling destination. Iberia Plus can be used to get flights or be cashed in for other Iberia services or those of the other companies linked to the Iberia Plus programme.[34]

Destinations

Main article: Vueling destinations

Vueling Largest Hub includes Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Palma and Ibiza. Florence and Brussels are smaller hubs.

Partnerships and codeshare agreements

Vueling has codeshare agreements and/or partnerships with the following airlines:

Fleet

Vueling A320-214 climbs away from Barcelona, Spain, in 2011

As of January 2015, the Vueling fleet consists of the following aircraft, with an average age of 7.5 years:[35][36]

Vueling Fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Options In storage Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A319-100 5 5 — — — 144 144
Airbus A320-200 83 44 58 1 — 180 180 1 due
Airbus A321-200 — 2 — — TBA To be leased
Total 88 51 58 1

References

  1. ^ Result of Vueling Tender Offer
  2. ^ a b c d e Results FY12
  3. ^ a b Reference for second largest airline claim as well as IAG takeover
  4. ^ Traffic statistics for 2012
  5. ^ "The History of Vueling". Vueling.com. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  6. ^ "Madrid-listed budget carrier Vueling has warned higher fuel costs and lower ticket prices could result in it reporting a loss this year". E-tid.com. 2007-10-02. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  7. ^ "The Spanish stock market regulator CNMV has suspended trading in low-cost carrier Vueling's shares". E-tid.com. 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  8. ^ Vueling completes restructuring; reports Q2 operating profit[dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Vueling to Merge With Clickair". News.airwise.com. 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  10. ^ a b "Vueling new airline name to UK. TravelMole. Phil Davies". Travelmole.com. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  11. ^ "Iberia-Clickair-Vueling surrender slots for merger approval". Flight International. 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  12. ^ "Vueling Passenger Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  13. ^ "Vueling by MTV" (in Spanish). Spain: MTV. 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2011-12-16.
  14. ^ Template:Cite airliners.net
  15. ^ a b Template:Cite airliners.net
  16. ^ "Vueling Cooperation with MTV". Vueling.com. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  17. ^ "Vueling announces base in Toulouse". Flight International. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  18. ^ "Vueling announces base in Amsterdam". Blog.flylowcostairlines.org. 2010-12-08. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  19. ^ "New Vueling Aircraft". Letstravelmag.com. 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  20. ^ Template:It AdR – Rome new operating base
  21. ^ "Vueling", Airliner World: 7, February 2013
  22. ^ http://www.luchtzak.be/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=51575#p288509
  23. ^ Expansion
  24. ^ FY08
  25. ^ FY09
  26. ^ FY10
  27. ^ FY11
  28. ^ FY12
  29. ^ [1]
  30. ^ a b c d e f Key Executives
  31. ^ IAG second offer
  32. ^ Vueling final offer
  33. ^ IAG complete's takeover of Vueling.
  34. ^ "Frequent flyer programmes. program". Vueling.com. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  35. ^ "Vueling fleet". Flightglobal. Retrieved 2014-03-03. (subscription required)
  36. ^ 13 February 2014. "Vueling Fleet in Planespotters.net". planespotters.net. Retrieved 2014-02-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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