Vueling to open base in Toulouse
09-Nov-2010 Vueling will begin operating from a brand new base in Toulouse, the capital of the French region of Midi-Pyrenees, in late April 2011, according to the announcement made at Toulouse-Blagnac airport by the airline’s Chairman, Josep Piqué, and the Chairman of the Board of the French airport, Jean-Michel Vernhes.
Toulouse will be Vueling's eighth base and the first outside of Spain after its merger with Clickair, which culminated in July 2009. The new operations at Toulouse airport (TLS) will have four brand new direct destinations (Pisa, Venice, Ibiza and Malaga) and new routes to Barcelona, Amsterdam and Paris. With Vueling, Toulouse will now have a brand new offer of flights with a high quality of service at competitive prices.
The airline will offer over 40 weekly flights, amounting to more than 200,000 seats for sale, until the end of October 2011. Further growth is expected beyond next year's Summer season. This new base represents a significant milestone in the company's growth plan as Vueling commences the path of for opening new bases outside of Spain.
In a welcoming ceremony hosted by local airport authorities, Mr. Piqué talked about the "strategic and symbolic" importance of the creation of the new base in the French city:
"This move is strategic because it starts a new phase of growth outside of Spain that validates the work of years of preparation to compete in the European market," he said. "It is symbolic because it is the first base located in a thriving region, adjacent to Catalonia, which reaffirms the Euro-Mediterranean vocation of our company."
In addition, the airline will offer connecting flights to over 40 destinations via El Prat airport in Barcelona, Vueling's main hub.
Direct destinations from Toulouse
Being "Toulouse's airline"
Vueling has exhaustively analyzed the location of its first base outside Spain from several options and worked closely with airport authorities, tourist and economic promotion offices of the French city and the region of Midi-Pyrenees to finally turn the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport into its new operations center.
Vueling will position one aircraft exclusively at the new base and invest around €30 million over the next three years, which will generate 150 direct and indirect jobs in Toulouse and its area of influence.
The Toulouse operation adds to the 106 weekly flights Vueling currently operates between France and six Spanish cities: Alicante, Barcelona, Ciudad Real, Madrid, Seville and Valencia. The company also offers a Paris-Orly and Rome-Fiumicino route with three daily flights, which until now was its only route outside the Spanish territory.
This year, Vueling has carried 1.3 million inbound/outbound passengers in France until September. Since the beginning of its operations in July, 2004, Vueling carried over six million passengers to/from France.
Tickets for Toulouse's routes will be on sale in December through www.vueling.com, m.vueling.com mobile portal, as well as travel agencies and customer service telephone (0899 232 400).