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Vueling will start to make flight connections from July 5th, transferring passengers between its flights, which currently serve more than 43 cities in Spain, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. In so doing, Vueling upgrades Barcelona airport (BCN) to an important connecting hub and the number of new connecting passengers will double the current BCN transfer passenger figures in 2010. This move was announced to international media by Vueling’s CEO Alex Cruz, in a press conference held at the airline’s head office in Barcelona.
Cruz explained the details of the 418 “Vueling-to-Vueling” connections available to passengers. "During 2010, connecting passengers will amount to between 250,000 and 350,000 people, doubling the existing number of connecting passengers at El Prat Airport," said Vueling’s CEO. "More than one third of the new passengers will be Italians, French, Dutch and central European citizens en route to Spanish destinations as well as other international destinations served by Vueling, such as Tel Aviv, Amman and Istanbul," he added.
Cruz emphasized the economic impact of this passenger increase at Barcelona Airport and added that the volume of connections will rise progressively as reservations become available through all sales channels. Thus, in 2011, Vueling estimates that over 10% of its passengers at El Prat – more than 1 million people – will be connecting passengers that would not have passed through Barcelona if Vueling had not been offering this service.
Cruz added that this “transfer passenger” project was initially conceived prior to the merger between Vueling and clickair but was formally launched at the end of 2009. He pointed out the excellence of the baggage handling facilities at the new Terminal 1 at El Prat Airport was one of the key factors that had contributed to the viability of the project.
Passenger connections will be a new product that will be available in addition to the other innovative products already provided by Vueling. Moreover, this product complies 100% with the original Vueling philosophy of providing quality service at competitive prices, whilst retaining the lowest operating costs.
Vueling launches this challenging new programme having achieved the following:
– An extensive network of destinations (43 domestic and international routes from Barcelona)
– A large number of flights per day and a large number of multi-frequency destinations (Paris, Rome, Madrid, Bilbao, Malaga, etc.)
– A consolidated fleet of aircraft
– A large volume of passengers (more than 2.5 million passengers carried only at Barcelona Airport)
– Having achieved the most efficient cost structure of all carriers at El Prat
The benefits of being a Vueling connection transfer passenger
Vueling’s connecting passengers will have several unique benefits whilst transferring through Terminal 1 at Barcelona Airport:
– If the connection is between two and four hours long, customers will have free wi-fi access at the airport, discounts in stores and restaurants and free access to a playground area.
– If the connection exceeds four hours, passengers will also enjoy discounts at the Wellness Spa, hairdresser and a VIP area of the airport.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
