Vueling to switch to 737 MAX?
October 4, 2024
Respected Dutch aviation website ‘Scramble’ reports that the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft ordered by International Airlines Group (IAG) are destined for Vueling.
Vueling S.A. is a Spanish, low-value, low-cost airline based at Viladecans in Greater Barcelona. Vueling is an operating company of the International Airlines Group, also the parent company of Iberia, British Airways and Aer Lingus. Vueling operates as a stand-alone entity within the IAG group.
Vueling is the largest airline in Spain, measured by either fleet size or number of destinations. The airline operates hubs at Barcelona–El Prat Airport (main), Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Paris-Orly Airport and Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport as a secondary hub. Vueling serves more than 120 destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and, and carried more than 37 million passengers in 2023.
During the Paris Airshow in 2019, at the very height of the 737 Max ‘troubles’, IAG placed a (heavily discounted) order for 25 MAX 8s and 25 MAX 10s), and took options on 100 more. The MAX was then grounded globally following two fatal crashes.
IAG thereby became the fifth-largest customer for the 737 MAX. Deliveries were slated to start at the end of 2023 and run through 2027, but were delayed.
IAG Chief Executive Luis Gallego said that: “The addition of new Boeing 737s is an important part of IAG’s short-haul fleet renewal.” It was not clear which of IAG’s subsidiaries would take the newly ordered aircraft – most using Airbus narrow bodies for short haul operations, albeit in above-average seating density configurations. IAG said only that the new aircraft could be used by “any airline in the group for fleet replacement.”
There was some speculation that British Airways’ Gatwick-based subsidiary BA Euroflyer might take the aircraft. Taking the 197 seat 737 MAX 8-200 (a high density sub-variant optimised for low-cost carriers and already used by Ryanair) would allow lower prices, giving British Airways a useful tool to compete with other Gatwick-based low-cost carriers.
Vueling’s fleet existing fleet consists of six A319s, 79 A320s, 25 A320neos, 18 A321s, and four A321neos.
It is now believed that the 737 MAXs will go to Vueling, replacing the A320 and A321. Older A320s in the Vueling fleet are expected to be retired, while the A320neos and A321neos may be transferred to other airlines within IAG, perhaps including Iberia and Iberia Express.
