At the 42nd edition of FITUR being held in Madrid, Spain, Calum Laming, Vueling’s Chief Customer Officer, unveiled the schedule for the upcoming northern summer season, highlighting the creation of a base at London/Gatwick (LGW).
Vueling is aiming to reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023, or 2024 at the latest. Thus, from March 26 until October 29, the company schedules flights to around 120 destinations in more than 30 countries, reaching a level similar to that of 2019. In total, it will have 320 routes in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
To meet the new schedule, the company expects to operate 129 aircraft. According to Ch-aviation, it has five A319s, 64 Airbus A320ceo, 23 Airbus A320neo and 18 Airbus A321ceo assets, with eight A320neo and 14 A321neo aircraft due to arrive soon.
The new base in London (Gatwick)
Vueling will have three Airbus A320s based at Gatwick from April 1, with plans to add more in the future. This is a surprise considering that British Airways will be launching its low-cost subsidiary, called «Euroflyer», on the same date.
«We are very proud to announce the development of our international network from London Gatwick. Thanks to the coordination with British Airways that allows us to offer the best joint product from London to support the growth of our markets. This is especially true after two very difficult years for tourism and aviation,» said Carolyn Prowse, Vueling’s Chief Commercial Officer.
Seven destinations to Spain were initially announced: A Coruña (LCG), Asturias (OVD), Granada (GRX), Jerez de las Fronteras (XRY), Malaga (AGP), Menorca (MAH) and Seville (SVQ). These links join the existing flights to Barcelona (BCN), Bilbao (BIO), Santiago de Compostela (SCQ), and Valencia (VLC) in Spain; Paris/Orly (ORY) in France; Florence (FLR) and Rome/Fiumicino (FCO) in Italy.
Additionally, A Coruña and Asturias were operated prior to the pandemic by the company, signifying the recovery of these connections.
The IAG group’s decision is a strategic move to retain the airport’s valuable slots, several of which were left by Norwegian Air Shuttle. Ultra-low-cost Wizz Air has reportedly expressed its intentions to gain space at Gatwick.
Destinations in detail:
| City | Frequency | Competition in Gatwick | Indirect competition | Paxs carried out in 2019 |
| Asturias (OVD) | No | No | 35.238 | |
| A Coruña (LCQ) | 3 weekly flights | No | No | 112.155 |
| Granada (GRX) | 3 weekly flights | No | No | 62.317 |
| Jerez de la Frontera (XRY) | 6 weekly flights | TUI Airways | Ryanair (STN) | 91.305 |
| Málaga (AGP) | 14 weekly flights | British Airways, Easyjet, Ryanair, TUI Airways, Wizz Air | British Airways (LCY y LHR), Easyjet (LTN y SEN), Jet2 (STN), Ryanair (STN y LTN) | 2.885.381 |
| Menorca (MAH) | 4 weekly flights | British Airways, Easyjet, TUI Airways | British Airways (LCY), Easyjet (LTN), Jet2 (STN), Ryanair (STN), TUI Airways (STN) | 396.362 |
| Sevilla (SVQ) | 3 weekly flights | British Airways, Easyjet | Ryanair (STN y LTN) | 460.076 |
*Passengers carried include passengers all London airports.
*Luton (LTN), Ciudad de Londres (LCY), Stansted (STN), Heathrow (LHR) y Southend (SEN)
