Vueling : VY : VLG

Les difficultés de Vueling semblent loin derrière elle. La compagnie espagnole a publié ses résultats trimestriels le 27 octobre : son bénéfice opérationnel n’a jamais été aussi bon. Ceci s’explique par le fait qu’il s’agit du premier bilan de la low-cost espagnole prenant en compte sa fusion avec Clickair.

Le résultat opérationnel a ainsi presque triplé, passant de 24,7 millions d’euros au troisième trimestre 2008 à 68,1 millions d’euros en 2009. Son chiffre d’affaires a quant à lui augmenté de 68,6% pour atteindre 259 millions d’euros.

Sa fusion avec Clickair a permis à Vueling de prendre de l’ampleur et de s’imposer sur le marché espagnol. Elle est devenue la quatrième compagnie en Espagne, après Ryanair, Iberia et easyJet et la troisième compagnie low-cost en Europe. Sa flotte a doublé et compte à présent trente-cinq Airbus A320. Son offre a crû de 80% et son trafic de 82% (3,3 millions de passagers).

La situation au troisième trimestre 2009 a considérablement évolué par rapport à celui de 2008, le prix du pétrole ayant alors dépassé les 140 dollars le baril. Vueling a donc pu réduire ses coûts de 13,2% par siège et son poste carburant est moins important que celui de 2008 alors qu’elle exploite deux fois plus d’appareils. Le prix des billets a également diminué mais la recette par passager est restée stable grâce à l’amélioration du taux d’occupation.

Vueling ne prévoit pas de grand changement dans le niveau de la demande au quatrième trimestre. 2010 sera placée sous le signe de la consolidation dans ses bases actuelles et devrait voir les résultats s’améliorer encore par rapport à ceux de cette année.

Vueling Airlines reported second quarter net income of €13.5 million ($17.5 million), a more than fourfold increase over a €3 million profit in the year-ago quarter, when it was still a standalone company.

Vueling, which merged with Clickair last year, attributed the improved net profit in to its "cost reduction program and the capture of merger synergies."

The LCC said the negative EBIT impact of April's European airspace closures was “in excess” of €1 million.

Vueling merged with Clickair last July and revenue, cost and traffic figures for the first two quarters of 2010 are much higher year-over-year owing to the combination ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]).

Second-quarter revenue doubled to €211.1 million.

Total expenses climbed 106% to €189.9 million and operating profit rose 59% to €21.2 million from €13.4 million in the year-earlier period.

Passengers carried heightened 102% to 2.8 million.

Traffic grew 97% to 2.52 billion RPKs on a 90% capacity increase to 3.5 billion ASKs, lowering load factor 1.1 points to 72%.

The average base fare per passenger increased 1% year-over-year to €66.57, while average ancillary revenue per passenger decreased 17% to €8.04 “mainly due to the increase in sales through the GDS channel (from 19% to 33% in 2010) in which some of ancillary products are already included in the basic fare,” it noted.

RASK improved 6% to €0.0602 and CASK increased 9% to €0.0542 owing to an increase in fuel costs.

CASK excluding fuel fell 1% to €0.041.

It operated 95 routes with 35 aircraft during the quarter compared to 56 routes with 17 A320s a year earlier prior to the merger.

For the 2010 first half, the Barcelona-based LCC earned €7.1 million, reversed from a €5 million deficit in the year-ago period.

Revenue soared 97% to €352.9 million and total expenditure rose 96% to €344.7 million.

EBIT jumped 119% to €8.2 million from €8.2 million in the first half of 2009.

Vueling Airlines CEO Alex Cruz confirmed to ATW that the carrier plans to add six aircraft next year and said the company is in talks “with all the major aircraft manufacturers as well as current and
some potential [new] lessors.”

Vueling currently deploys 36 A320s.

Cruz has in the past been very adamant that a short/medium-haul carrier in Europe needs to operate a single fleet type to keep costs low, and he indicated this week that the airline may switch to a 737 fleet.

Several of Vueling’s A320s will come off lease in 2012.

“Our first objective is to grow the fleet to 42 aircraft in the peak summer [of 2011],” Cruz said. “2009 was the year of the merger [with Clickair] ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]), 2010 was the year of consolidation and 2011 will be the year of
resuming growth.
The new Vueling is building a sustainable model and is profitable, we’re confident we are ready to begin growing again.”

Faced with intense competition and a worsening economic environment, both Barcelona-based LCCs reduced their fleet before the last July's merger: Vueling trimmed its fleet by seven to 17 and Clickair by eight to 18.

"The company achieved an EBIT of €75.8 million [$99.7 million] in the first 12 months of the merger, fourfold the operating profit generated in the 12 previous months," Cruz said. "We made a profit and achieved a merger that made sense. Vueling is now the leading airline in three of its six markets: Barcelona, where we hold a 25% market share, Seville with a 35% share and Bilbao with 23%.”

The company posted net earnings of €13.5 million in the second quarter, up from €3 million in the year-ago period as a stand-alone company or up 89% from €7.1 million on a pro forma basis ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]).

Cruz is also pleased about VY’s new connections function launched at BCN July 5 ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]).

“The new connectivity, transferring passengers and their luggage between Spanish and international destinations in our network, was very successful," he said. "We have achieved over €3 million in sales already from new connecting passengers."

Vueling, Europe’s new-generation airline, carried 1,298,902 passengers in August, a historic record for the airline.
This traffic figure represents a 4.8% increase year on year.

Good response to connections product

The increase in passenger volume is mainly attributable to Vueling’s new connecting flights at its Barcelona Airport hub, an operation that started on 5th July.
Connecting flights through Barcelona significantly increased Vueling destinations in most airports operated by the company.

Winter offer adapted to the business passenger

Attracting business passengers is a priority for Vueling.

Looking ahead to the winter season, the airline has increased frequencies on major business routes and recently launched the pack Go!, a new product that brings together services that are otherwise offered separately.

These include the possibility to board an earlier or later in the day flight if appointments finish early or overrun, at no extra cost, free assigned seating, boarding pass through email and mobile phone at the end of the booking process without having to check in online.

Vueling is also offering business flyers double points in Punto and Iberia Plus frequent flyer programs and exclusive check-in desks at Barcelona and Madrid.

Vueling loue des avions auprès d’Iberia

La compagnie aérienne low cost Vueling a annoncé la location de six Airbus A320 auprès de sa maison mère Iberia.
La compagnie à bas coûts espagnole, qui lancera en avril 2011 sa première base française à Toulouse, s’est décidée à louer six avions à Iberia pour huit mois à compter d’avril afin d’accompagner le développement de son réseau. Outre l’ouverture de la base dans la ville rose, avec neuf routes à la clé, et de celle d’Amsterdam, Vueling va en effet lancer d’autres routes dont un Barcelone – Bordeaux, qui lui permettront d’offrir plus de 10,5 millions de sièges pendant l’été, soit une augmentation de 8% de ses capacités.
Les six Airbus permettront surtout à Vueling de reprendre sous ses couleurs certaines lignes opérées par Iberia au départ de Madrid, les deux compagnies partageant leurs codes sur l’intégralité du réseau de la low cost. On ne sait pas si ces lignes seront domestiques ou internationales, mais les six Airbus seront basés à l’aéroport Barajas dans la capitale espagnole.
A la fin de l’année, Vueling disposera d’une flotte de 48 avions, tous loués. Passer à l’achat d’avions quand les contrats de location expirent est désormais envisagé, et la décision sera prise cette année – auquel cas Vueling investira dans des avions de la taille de l’A320, et demandera des devis à Airbus, Boeing et Bombardier – voire éventuellement au chinois Comac.

Vueling to Start 48-Jet Order This Year, Sunday Express Reports

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] plans to buy at least 48 passenger jets and will invite bids to supply the aircraft by the end of the year, the Sunday Express reported, quoting Chief Executive Officer Alex Cruz.

The discount carrier is seeking to replace 48 leased Airbus jetliners with Boeing 737s, Airbus A320s or planes from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]’s C-Series, according to the newspaper. The company will make a decision in the first quarter of next year, according to the Sunday Express.

Vueling to add six aircraft, several new routes in 2012

Vueling Airlines (VY) will add five Airbus A320s and one A319 this year to support its organic growth as it launches 44 new routes and at least three new bases, CEO Alex Cruz said. The carrier is also proceeding with plans to order “at least” 50 new aircraft.

The Barcelona El Prat (BCN) low-cost carrier, has an all-leased Airbus A320 fleet; the potential purchase tender has been in the pipeline since early last year.

“We announced last year we would go through a re-fleeting exercise this year. This is the first time ever in Vueling’s history. We have issued documentation to vendors and we are expecting their responses now and doing vendor visits,” Cruz told ATW. He said the company was talking to “all manufacturers with an open mind to the models,” such as the A320 family, Boeing 737 family and Bombardier C Series, noting that “[737]MAX or [A320]neo is not our worry now—we want to make the right financial decision.” Cruz said he hopes to place the order before the summer and confirmed the company has already started the first few rounds of pre-delivery payment financing.

Cruz did not detail the exact size of the order but said it would be for “at least” 50 narrowbodies, to substitute its entire leased fleet plus growth.

The six new aircraft will also add 23 new routes to its base at BCN, lifting its network there to 70 direct routes. Its BCN-based fleet will grow by five aircraft to 28 aircraft (plus one back-up aircraft) this summer, representing a capacity growth of around 20%. It will open a base at Palma de Mallorca (PMI) with one aircraft; one of its two new international bases will be announced in March.

“We are showing that Vueling is growing organically in its market each year with about six aircraft,” Cruz noted. This summer the carrier will have 48 aircraft. Cruz reiterated an earlier outlook that the company expects to report a profit for 2011.

“The fact that we are looking at a profitable 2011 against the background of a great deal of competition and increased fuel prices allows us to begin to think that there is a possibility that we do have a sustainable model,” Cruz said.

Barcelona’s Vueling Dreams Big With Expanded Network, Business Cabin

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Barcelona-based budget carrier Vueling in the coming weeks will unveil its first business-class cabin as part of a strategic effort that also includes a sizable network and fleet expansion next year, as well as a new fare structure.

Few details on the fleet expansion, new cabin or fare changes are currently being disclosed, with Vueling instead focused on promoting the addition of 28 new routes next year at its Barcelona El Prat Airport hub. This network expansion includes increased frequencies, as well as new services to Belgium, Eastern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, France, Greece, Italy, Russia and Sweden.

New services also are planned from March 2013 to Northern and Central Africa, as well as London Gatwick, CEO Alex Cruz said during a webcast press conference. Domestic services also will be added early next year, he said.

Five of the routes—Dresden, Germany; Fez, Morocco; Rennes, France; Rhodes and Kos, Greece—are new to El Prat.

This growth will increase Vueling’s El Prat network to 100 destinations and will help the carrier meet its goal of connecting 2 million passengers a year through its home airport. “Barcelona will become the most important European hub in 2014,” Cruz added, noting that in the past two years Vueling has added 45 new destinations at El Prat to make the airport second to Frankfurt for short- and medium-haul services across Europe.

More routes also are planned for Vueling’s non-hub airports, with new destinations and frequencies on offer for Alicante, Bilbao, Malaga and the Balearic and Canary Islands networks. Vueling’s continued expansion, indeed the carrier’s new strategy, is focused on business travelers, who the airline says will account for 50% of its traffic by the end of 2013.

The new fare structure, which Cruz says will include new fees, will be “well suited to the business customer.” A new marketing campaign will support this push, although Vueling offered little information apart from a new slogan.

This lack of detail to the fare structure and marketing campaign extends to the fleet expansion, with Vueling saying only that its El Prat-based fleet will grow to 43 aircraft from 34 and that 500 more staff will be needed. During the press conference, Cruz noted that the aircraft will come “straight from the factory” with the new cabin layout, and that a few Wi-Fi-enabled aircraft will be operated by the end of the year, but he offered no specifics on aircraft type, delivery schedule or ownership of this additional fleet.

CASH TENDER OFFER FOR 100 PER CENT OF VUELING SHARE CAPITAL

Veloz Holdco SLU, a wholly owned subsidiary of International Airlines Group (IAG), is to make a cash tender offer to buy 100 per cent of the share capital of Vueling, the Spanish low cost carrier based in Barcelona.


The offer will be launched exclusively on the Spanish stock markets. Veloz Holdco SLU has been created as an IAG subsidiary for this transaction.


IAG's subsidiary Iberia owns 45.85 per cent of Vueling's shares currently and the Iberia board has agreed not to tender them in the offer.

This means that Iberia would retain their shareholding in Vueling with IAG seeking to acquire the remaining 54.15 per cent.


The offer will be €7.00 per ordinary share of Vueling with the total cost of acquiring 54.15 per cent anticipated to be €113 million.

It will be funded using internal IAG resources.