Why did you choose to expand outside Spain with new bases in Amsterdam and Toulouse?
It is the combination of some internal and external factors. The Vueling and clickair merger has been successfully completed and we are ready to grow. Secondly, we operate in many intra-European markets and customers outside Spain choose Vueling over a number of our competitors. Thirdly, we’ve been consistently lowering our cost per available seat kilometre over the past few years. This has been achieved by aggressive cost control initiatives, better aircraft utilisation as well as a larger fleet size. Our strong cash position would also help in case of an aggressive reaction from existing players. Then external factors include the performance of the Dutch and French economies, which are doing better than the average in Europe; the low penetration of LCCs in these countries; the high purchasing power per resident in those cities and a good mix of business and leisure travellers.
What attracted Vueling to Toulouse?
The Midi-Pyrénées is a rapidly growing economy that has been experiencing demographic growth for many years. Toulouse has a young and cosmopolitan population and one out of three jobs is in high-tech industries. We believe the city is underserved compared with other cities with similar size and purchasing power, and Toulouse Blagnac Airport did a great job in supporting us in analysing many of the routes that we are now inaugurating.
What attracted you to Amsterdam?
Before making the decision to move to AMS, we were already flying to seven destinations. There was no other way for us to grow than to start having aircraft based in Amsterdam. AMS–BCN is a very strategic market for us. With this first aircraft based, we can now offer AMS business passengers a good early departure to Barcelona. Our relationship with Schiphol has also been great since we first landed in AMS in 2005. We are already serving Barcelona, Seville, Malaga, Ibiza, Bilbao, A Coruña and Valencia. We are also already selling Palma de Mallorca, Alicante and Zurich.
Would you consider reopening a Paris base in the future?
Although we no longer have aircraft based in Paris, we fly to 12 destinations from the French capital. We are also the number three airline in Paris Orly. We have a list of airports where we see Vueling having a base and Paris is always shortlisted. A return to Paris, why not?!
Is there room for growth at Barcelona?
BCN is, without a doubt, one of the most competitive markets in Europe. Name a low-cost or a legacy airline – they are all here. Barcelona is our home and we will do whatever it takes to protect it. Everything seems to be in our favour at Barcelona and by leveraging this competitive advantage, we continue to grow. Three more aircraft will be deployed there this summer. We will also launch new destinations from Barcelona: Zurich, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Mikonos, Crete and two more that are not confirmed. We are also adding new frequencies to Lisbon, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan and Paris.
What do you see as the greatest challenge for airlines in Europe in the year ahead?
Anticipating the future cost of fuel and how much the economies of the regions where airlines operate is crucial for those wanting to remain profitable or to return to profitability. Other than that, we will remain exposed to all the unknowns that shock the airline industry every now and then.
This issue features in Routes News 2011 Issue 3
