Vueling Airlines (VY, Barcelona El Prat) will lease slots at London Heathrow from sister carrier British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) for the upcoming IATA summer season between March 31 and October 26, 2024. This agreement will allow the Spanish airline to offer daily flights to Barcelona El Prat and Paris Orly and marks its return to London’s main airport after four years.
The deal between the two IAG International Airlines Group carriers was announced by the UK’s Airport Coordination Limited on February 7. It also includes flights being moved from Terminals 3 and 5, where British Airways operates, to Terminal 4.
"These two new routes are in addition to our existing operation from London Gatwick and position Vueling as one of the key airlines connecting these major hubs across Europe," said Carolyn Prowse, Chief Commercial, Customer, Network and Strategy Officer.
The ch-aviation schedules module shows Vueling currently offers 49 weekly flights between Barcelona El Prat, its largest hub, and London Gatwick. It competes head-to-head with easyJet Europe/easyJet UK, which jointly operate 26 weekly frequencies. Meanwhile, Paris Orly is the airline’s second-largest hub and sees 18 weekly flights to Gatwick by Vueling. The Barcelona-Heathrow route is served exclusively by British Airways, while the Orly-Heathrow route is unserved currently.
Vueling’s flights from London Heathrow to Barcelona and Paris Orly will be operated on the airline’s 180-seater A320-200s.
The Spanish LCC has only secured the leased slots for one season. It applied for 14 weekly slot pairs at Heathrow for the Summer 2024 season, but secured none of them.
