Vueling airline to link Barcelona to 100 destinations in summer 2013

Barcelona (ACN).- On Tuesday evening the Catalan airline Vueling presented its strategic plan for the next two years, which plans to transform Barcelona El Prat Airport into Europe’s main hub for short and medium distance flights by 2014. In order to reach this objective, Vueling will link Barcelona to 100 destinations from summer 2013. It will add 28 new routes, including 5 destinations that have never been directly connected to Barcelona El Part Airport: Dresden (Germany), Rennes (France), Fez (Morocco), Rhodes and Kos (Greece). Furthermore, the Catalan airline will foster its offer to business travellers by unveiling the new ‘Excellence’ flying class and operating direct flights linking Barcelona with London-Gatwick and Frankfurt. Vueling’s President, Josep Piqué, emphasised that these news prove once again that the company has been clearly investing in Barcelona El Prat Airport since 2004. In addition, Piqué announced that in 2012, Vueling will end the year in profit. It will be the fourth year in a row that the Catalan airline has been in profit, being one of the few European airlines to be profitable in recent years. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, who attended Vueling’s strategic plan presentation, praised the company’s commitment to Barcelona Airport and asked it to become “the airline our country needs” in order “to win the game of international projection”.

Europe’s main hub for short and medium distance flights by 2014

From next summer, Vueling will add 28 new routes operating from Barcelona El Prat Airport to cities in France, Germany, Italy, and the Nordic countries, among others. With this initiative, the company will continue its plan to increase connections from Barcelona’s airport. In the summers of 2010 and 2011, Vueling added a total of 45 new routes operating from the Catalan capital. By the summer 2013, Vueling will connect the Catalan capital to 100 destinations in Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. As Piqué explained, this strategy will make Barcelona El Prat Airport Europe’s main hub for short and medium distance flights (considering all the airlines) by 2014. Currently Catalonia’s main airport is already the second continental hub for this kind of flight.

500 new employees

In order to cope with these new routes, Vueling will increase its staff with 500 new employees, including pilots, air crews and support staff. In addition, it will increase the number of aircraft based in Barcelona, increasing from 34 to 43 planes. This will re-confirm Barcelona’s airport as the company’s main hub, way ahead of Madrid Barajas, Málaga or Amsterdam.

The fourth consecutive year in profit

The company’s President, Josep Piqué, explained how the company evolved from 2004 until the present day. Piqué remembered the difficult initial times but he emphasised that nowadays Vueling is a clearly profitable airline. In fact, Piqué stated that in 2012 the company will be in profit. It will be the fourth consecutive year in this situation, being one of the few airlines to be profitable. Piqué has decided to keep the company’s current cost structure, which was reduced in recent years.

Offering higher quality services

Vueling will improve the quality of its services, such as by adding a new premium flying class (called ‘Excellence) and by continuing to offer flight-transfers from its own flights. In fact, Vueling started as a low-cost company. However, according to Piqué, currently “it is not a low-cost company, but a company with low costs and competitive, which offers a product that is increasingly more similar to that of the old state flagship airlines”. The company’s CEO, Alex Cruz, explained the details of the new ‘Excellence’ class, which “will offer more comfort services at a very competitive price”. In addition, he detailed the new connections, including the strategic flights linking Barcelona to London-Gatwick and Frankfurt, aiming to attract business travellers. Besides, Cruz unveiled Vueling’s new slogan: ‘Love the way you fly’.

Barcelona, the company’s strategic investment

Piqué underlined Vueling’s strategic investment in Barcelona El Prat Airport, where it already has 30% of the market share. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, who attended Vueling’s presentation, praised the company’s commitment to Barcelona and Catalonia. He asked Vueling to “fulfil the role of the airline our country needs” in order “to win the battle of international projection”. Mas remarked that other companies have abandoned Barcelona El Prat Airport, such as Iberia – partially owned by the Spanish Government. He also stressed that others had tried to invest in El Prat but they were not successful, such as Spanair. However, Vueling “believed” in the airport and made “a definitive investment” which has resulted in absolute success. Mas praised Vueling’s strategy as it helps Catalonia to “win the game of international projection”. The Catalan President congratulated the company on its success and for having “transformed Barcelona El Prat into a great base”, a situation that represents having reached “a point of no return”.

Mas claims for Barcelona El Prat Airport’s railway connection

Additionally, the Catalan President sent a message to the Spanish Government. Mas asked the Spanish Government once again to start working on the railway connection to Barcelona Airport’s new Terminal 1, which is planned but work has been delayed without a fixed date for unveiling it. Mas lamented that the Spanish Government did not prioritise the railway connections with Barcelona’s airport and sea port, despite having the budget to build one of the world’s largest high-speed train networks. Mas emphasised that this is a shared claim from Catalonia’s business community, in particular the industrial and logistics sectors.