Vueling today kicked off its new summer 2022 schedule from Gatwick Airport. The Spanish carrier began operations to Malaga, Seville, and La Coruña from the site. Mahon, Granada, and Almeria all follow this week as part of the airline's strategy to double down at the London-area airport.

A national approach

Along with the Spanish Tourist Office, Vueling recognizes significant growth opportunities within the United Kingdom. In the year before the pandemic arrived, Spain was seeing 786,044 monthly arrivals from the UK. In 2021, as recovery got underway, the country reported 415,585 monthly arrivals from the UK despite ever-changing travel conditions.

Most visitors to Spain come from the UK, with Germany and France following behind, and this summer, Spain is preparing for further developments as travel recovery continues and restrictions ease.

Nonetheless, Spain is determined for the recovery to be handled sustainably. The nation’s tourism minister, Reyes Maroto, this week announced a tourism investment of €720 million toward the country’s Destination Tourism Sustainability Plans. €170 million of this figure will be distributed among autonomous communities to finance energy-efficient and circular economy projects in tourist accommodation.

Along with these efforts, Spain is keen to highlight its cuisine, promote the works of Pablo Picasso amid the 50th anniversary of his passing, and concentrate on the recovery of La Palma. Therefore, there is plenty of responsibility in the hands of travel stakeholders in the country.

Crucial role

Thus, Vueling, being the largest carrier in Spain by fleet size and destination number, has an ambitious summer program on the cards. It will perform on 343 routes across 118 destinations and 30 countries.

GettyImages-1238774909-3 Airbus A320neo Vueling
Photo: Getty Images

With the UK being the biggest market for Spanish tourism, it is not a surprise that the airline is doubling its 2019 Gatwick presence. These Gatwick operations combine an extensive network to France, Spain, and Italy from Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, and Newcastle.

Carolyn Prowse, Vueling’s chief commercial, strategy, network and customer officer, took a moment to speak about the potential to be had within the UK.

“We are making a significant investment into London Gatwick and doubling our presence at the airport. For us, it is the highest international growth markets for summer 2022 versus 2019. We operate a number of airports within the UK, but specifically for Gatwick, we have a number of destinations that we've previously served, and we have a number of new destinations. Out of these new routes, there are three that are only served by Vueling from London, and that's Granada, A Coruña, and Asturias. There are also a couple of other routes, Paris Orly and Florence, that are served only by Vueling from Gatwick.”

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Strong stance

Outside London, the airline is also consolidating the routes between the UK and Paris Orly with its new remedy slots that were awarded. These routes started in November, and are operating out of key cities to Orly.

The Gatwick routes are served both by aircraft that Vueling base remotely along with two new additions to be based at the airport.

“The new development for us for this summer is that we're basing two aircraft in Gatwick itself - two A320neo aircraft. From a sustainability and CO2 emissions point of view, they're much more efficient.”

Vueling A320neo
Vueling has an all-Airbus fleet of 125, including 6 A319-100s, 76 A320-200s, 25 A320neos, and 18 A321-200s. Photo: Vueling

Altogether, these aircraft represent a new start for Vueling this season. It undoubtedly values the importance of the UK market, which Prowse told Simple Flying has additional room for expansion in the period ahead.

“Our team is always looking at opportunities from other UK airports. As we see demand, there are possibilities... We always react to consumer demand.”

Gatwick will be glad to see this extra attention. There were concerns following the global health crisis' impact on operations at the site. However, Vueling is joined by other powerhouses such as Wizz Air in the reactivation of Gatwick's South Terminal. The airlines will be expecting further growth by the time the year is over.

What are your thoughts about Vueling’s expansion plans in the United Kingdom? What do you make of the overall opportunities in this field? Let us know what you think in the comment section.