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| Founded | 10 February 2004; 21 years ago (2004-02-10) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 1 July 2004; 21 years ago (2004-07-01) | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Vueling Club (Avios affiliate) | ||||||
| Fleet size | 136 | ||||||
| Destinations | 99[1] | ||||||
| Parent company | IAG (97.52%)[2] | ||||||
| Headquarters | Viladecans, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain | ||||||
| Key people | Carolina Martinoli (Chairman &CEO) | ||||||
| Revenue |  €1,016 million (2021)[3] | ||||||
| Operating income | €181.1 million (2017) | ||||||
| Net income | €117.2 million (2017)[4] | ||||||
| Total assets | €1,509.9 million (2017)[4] | ||||||
| Total equity |  €237.2 million (2012)[5] | ||||||
| Employees | 3,189 | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Vueling S.A. (/ˈvwɛlɪŋ/VWEL-ing,Spanish:[ˈbwelin]) is aSpanishlow-cost airline based inViladecans inGreater Barcelona with operating bases inBarcelona–El Prat Airport in Spain (main),Paris Orly Airport in France,Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands,London Gatwick Airport in the UK, andRome Fiumicino Airport in Italy (secondary). It is the largest airline in Spain as measured by fleet size and number of destinations.[citation needed] As of 2021, Vueling serves 122 destinations in Africa, Asia, and Europe,[6] and carried more than 34 million passengers in 2019.[7] Since 2013, it has been an operating company ofInternational Airlines Group, the parent company ofBritish Airways,Iberia, andAer Lingus.
Vueling was established on 10 February 2004 and commenced operations on 1 July 2004 with a flight betweenBarcelona andIbiza. The initial fleet consisted of twoAirbus A320 aircraft, based in Barcelona servingBrussels,Ibiza,Palma de Mallorca andParis-CDG.[8] The name Vueling was formed by combining theSpanish wordvuelo (flight) with theEnglish gerund suffix-ing.[9]
Initially, major shareholders of Vueling wereApax Partners (40%), Inversiones Hemisferio (Grupo Planeta) (30%), Vueling's management team (23%) and V.A. Investor (JetBlue Airways) (7%).[citation needed] During its nascent stages, the company's general manager was Lázaro Ros, while Carlos Muñoz was CEO. In November 2007, Vueling appointed managing director ofSpanair Lars Nygaard as CEO to replace Carlos Muñoz, who remained a member of the board of directors.[citation needed]
Madrid was added as the airline's second base in 2005, followed by its first base outside Spain at Paris CDG in 2007.Seville followed in December 2009.[citation needed]
In 2007, Apax Partners sold its 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.[10] Shares in the company were also temporarily suspended.[11] This led toBarbara Cassani, former Chief Executive of UK low-cost airlineGo, 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.[12]
In June 2008, Vueling and rival Spanish low-cost airlineClickair 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.[13][14] 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.[15] On 15 July 2009, the merger of Vueling andClickair was completed.[14] 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[16] to almost 50 destinations.
In 2009, Vueling, for the second year running, cooperated withMTV during the summer season.[17] Two of Vueling's A320 aircraft (EC-KDG[18] and EC-KDH[19]) were re-painted into MTV liveries with some MTV styling on-board too. The designs of both liveries were created byCusto Dalmau and both liveries were removed at the end of 2009.[20] In the summer season of 2010, EC-KDG[19] had again been re-painted into an MTV livery, and in 2011, it was re-painted into a livery based on FrenchDJ andproducerDavid Guetta; the livery has since been removed and co-operation with MTV has since ended.[citation needed]
In November 2010, Vueling announced a new base inToulouse Airport in France from April 2011,[21] followed in December 2010 by the announcement of a new base inAmsterdam, also to open during April 2011. The Toulouse base opened on 23 April 2011, but has since closed.[22]
In January 2011, further expansion was announced with Vueling adding a further nine aircraft to its fleet, includingAirbus A319 aircraft. Six Airbus A320s were delivered between April and June 2011, whilst the remaining two A320s were delivered by the end of 2011.[23]
On 21 March 2012, it was announced by CEO Alex Cruz thatRome 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.[24] On 5 December 2012, Vueling announced the opening of a new base of operations inFlorence: the carrier is to base one aircraft there and serve four new European destinations.[25] Ten months later, on 25 October 2013, Vueling launchedFlorence-Catania, its first domestic route in Italy.
Since November 2013, the airline has continued to expand from itshub at Barcelona.[26] On 6 November 2013, Vueling announced a new base with one aircraft inBrussels, with seven new destinations from May 2014, in addition to the four previous routes from Brussels.[citation needed] Also in November 2013, Vueling announced an expansion of its base atRome-Fiumicino. From mid-2014, 8 aircraft would be based there, operating more than 30 routes. This expansion meant Rome-Fiumicino would become Vueling's secondary hub, after Barcelona. In 2014, Vueling opened routes to Warsaw and Cracow in Poland, both of which were canceled in 2020.
During the first weekend of July 2016, Vueling had many delays and cancellations, which resulted in an investigation by the Spanish authorities.[27] During the same month, Vueling cancelled all its flights toSheremetyevo International Airport,Vilnius Airport andRabat–Salé Airport. Clients were able to get a refund or fly to the nearest airport where Vueling flew.[28] In October 2016, Vueling shut down their bases in Brussels, Catania andPalermo as part of restructuring measures.[29]
In March 2017, Vueling canceled its route from Barcelona toFrankfurt Airport.[30]
On 29 December 2017, it was announced that IAG would acquire Austrian airlineNiki as a subsidiary for Vueling.[31] However, Niki was later acquired byNiki Lauda, the owner ofLaudamotion, with investment fromRyanair.[32] A few months after losing the bid for Niki, IAG instead establishedAnisec Luftfahrt as a subsidiary of Vueling, operating asLEVEL, using four former Niki aircraft that had not been purchased by rivalLufthansa (and leased toLauda).[33][34]
In 2020, Vueling announced new routes linkingParis, France toDubrovnik, Croatia andSeville, Spain toMarrakech, Morocco.[35][36] Subsequently in December 2024, Vueling announced that the airline will launch flights between Florence andBrussels in April 2025 using their Airbus A319 aircraft.[37]
On July 23, 2025, a group of 52 Jewish teenagers and their chaperone were removed from Vueling Airlines flight 8166 (Valencia-Paris Orly) before departure. The incident gave rise to a number of complaints that accused the airline of engaging in antisemitic behaviour.[38] Officials from the French government requested an explanation from the airline, and several Jewish advocacy groups expressed their concerns.[39] TheUnited States Department of State called for a complete investigation of the events.[40] In an unsubstantiated statement,Amichai Chikli, Israel's minister forDiaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, claimed the Vueling crew had said "Israel is a terrorist state", and attributed the incident to "Hamas's campaign of lies".[41] However, Vueling has consistently denied all allegations of antisemitism, arguing that it was the persistent and highly disruptive behavior of the group that ultimately led to their removal, as their actions constituted a serious threat to the aircraft's safety equipment.[42] After several warnings from the crew were disregarded, the pilot ordered the group's forced disembarkation to guarantee the flight's safety.[43]Spain's Civil Guard, who assisted with the disembarkation, said that the passengers who were removed were French nationals, and that it was not aware of the group's religious affiliation.[44] Following a comprehensive investigation of the incident, theSpanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency later concluded that the airline had acted reasonably and in accordance with the official regulations, without any evidence of antisemitic motivations.[45]
The key trends for Vueling are shown below (as at year ending 31 December):[46]
| Turnover (€m) | Net profit (€m) | Number of employees[a] | Number of passengers (m) | Passenger load factor (%) | Number of aircraft[b] | Notes/ sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 437 | 8.5 | 1,013 | 5.9 | 70.3 | 21 | [47] |
| 2009 | 598 | 27.8 | 1,195 | 8.2 | 73.7 | 26 | [48] |
| 2010 | 790 | 46.0 | 1,266 | 11.0 | 73.2 | 36 | [49] |
| 2011 | 856 | 10.4 | 1,389 | 12.3 | 75.6 | 44 | [50] |
| 2012 | 1,103 | 28.3 | 1,774 | 14.8 | 77.7 | 53 | [51] |
| 2013 | 1,404 | 93.4 | 1,937 | 17.2 | 79.6 | 64 | [52] |
| 2014 | 1,697 | 98.3 | 2,390 | 21.5 | 79.6 | 80 | [53] |
| 2015 | 1,933 | 95.3 | 2,637 | 24.8 | 81.3 | 96 | [54] |
| 2016 | 2,027 | 48.9 | 3,030 | 27.8 | 82.4 | 106 | [55] |
| 2017 | 2,085 | 117 | 3,089 | 29.6 | 83.7 | 108 | [56] |
| 2018 | 2,338 | 149 | 3,553 | 32.7 | 84.3 | 113 | [57] |
| 2019 | 2,446 | 132 | 4,439 | 34.5 | 85.7 | 122 | [58] |
| 2020 | 594 | −785 | 3,995 | 9.6 | 69.8 | 127 | [59] |
| 2021 | 1,014 | −350 | 3,969 | 15.8 | 76.6 | 127 | [60] |
| 2022 | 2,600 | 130 | 4,570 | 31.9 | 87.0 | 124 | [61] |
| 2023 | 3,189 | 315 | 4,605 | 37.0 | 91.0 | 124 | [62] |
| 2024 | 3,249 | 213 | 4,706 | 38.0 | 92.0 | 131 | [63] |
In November 2012,International Airlines Group, whose subsidiaryIberia 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 ofBritish 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.[64]
On 27 March 2013, IAG improved its offer for Vueling, raising its offer per share from €7 to €9.25. Vueling shares quickly surged following the announcement, rising by 8.8% to €9.23 following a temporary suspension asBMAD waited on an official comment from Vueling regarding the updated offer. The acceptance period was also increased by 48 calendar days.[65]
On 9 April 2013, the board of Vueling unanimously recommended shareholders accept an improved offer of €9.25 per share from IAG. IAG CEOWillie 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 the IAG Group."[66]
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 remains a standalone company now within the IAG, and its management structure is unchanged; however, Vueling's CEO reports directly to IAG CEO.[67]
Vueling'sfrequent flyer programme is Vueling Club,[68] which allows members to earn and redeemAvios for award flights or fare discounts on Vueling andIAG airlinesAer Lingus,British Airways,Iberia, andLevel, and for award travel onOneworld airline alliance partners. Vueling Club replaced Vueling's original programme, Punto (Spanish forpoint), on 27 October 2017, after being announced prior in August 2017.[69] Punto allowed account holders to earn and redeem points for Vueling flights.
Vueling hascodeshare agreements with the following airlines:[72]
As of August 2025[update], Vueling operates an all-Airbus A320 family fleet composed of the following aircraft:[75]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 6 | — | 144 | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 92 | — | 180 | |
| 186 | ||||
| Airbus A320neo | 22 | — | 186 | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 18 | — | 220 | |
| Airbus A321neo | 4 | — | 236 | |
| Boeing 737 MAX 200 | — | 25 | 200 | Deliveries from 2026.[76] Order with 100 options.[77] |
| Boeing 737 MAX 10 | — | 25 | 230 | |
| Total | 142 | 50 | ||
In July 2025, it was confirmed that the order for 50Boeing 737 MAX aircraft ordered by parent company IAG in 2022 is intended for Vueling to replace older Airbus A320ceo aircraft and provide fleet expansion to become a mixed Airbus A320neo family and Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body fleet. The order also includes 100 options for the Boeing 737 MAX.[77]
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