The Barcelona-based low-cost airline Vueling has announced 28 new routes out of their base in Paris Orly Airport (ORY), France. With this announcement, the airline will operate around 70 weekly flights to a total of 52 destinations around Europe and North Africa.
Why such a heavy expansion?
In September 2021, the European Commission (EC) agreed to give a €4 billion (£3,4 billion) loan to Air France to help the airline stay afloat through the struggling times of the pandemic. However, the loan could only happen if Air France was willing to give up 18 take-off and landing slots in ORY in order to prevent unfair competition among airlines (you can read more about it here).
Therefore, with the beginning of IATA Winter Season 2021-2022, starting on Sunday, 31st October 2021, Vueling will increase its market share in Paris with a wide portfolio of destinations, competing mainly with Air France, Transavia France, and easyJet, which all have operating bases at the airport.
28 new routes out of Orly
Here is the complete list of the new routes, all opening between 2nd and 5th November. All tickets are already for sale on Vueling’s website.
Tuesday, 2nd November 2021
Bari (BRI), Italy: two weekly flights
Belfast International (BFS), United Kingdom: two weekly flights
Cardiff (CWL), United Kingdom: three weekly flights
Dublin (DUB), Ireland: daily flights
Edinburgh (EDI), United Kingdom: two weekly flights
Leipzig (LEJ), Germany: two weekly flights
Milan Bergamo (BGY), Italy: three weekly flights
Nuremberg (NUE), Germany: three weekly flights
Turin (TRN), Italy: two weekly flights
Wednesday, 3rd November 2021
Agadir (AGA), Morocco: two weekly flights
Asturias (OVD), Spain: two weekly flights
Birmingham (BHX), United Kingdom: three weekly flights
Bologna (BLQ), Italy: three weekly flights
Granada (GRX), Spain: two weekly flights
Hamburg (HAM), Germany: four weekly flights
Stockholm Arlanda (ARN), Sweden: two weekly flights
Tangier (TNG), Morocco: two weekly flights
Thursday, 4th November 2021
Bergen (BGO), Norway: two weekly flights
Billund (BLL), Denmark: two weekly flights
Glasgow (GLA), United Kingdom: two weekly flights
Newcastle (NCL), United Kingdom: two weekly flights
Zaragoza (ZAZ), Spain: two weekly flights
Friday, 5th November 2021
Cork (ORK), Ireland: two weekly flights
Genoa (GOA), Italy: two weekly flights
Gothenburg (GOT), Sweden: two weekly flights
Jerez (XRY), Spain: two weekly flights
Malta (MLA): two weekly flights
Santander (SDR), Spain: two weekly flights
A deeper look at the network
Most routes (21 out of 28) operate twice weekly, so these routes might be the most sensitive to adjustments according to the demand. Only the Paris-Dublin route runs daily.
The most significant expansion is on the France-UK/Ireland market, with eight new destinations and 23 weekly frequencies; this is a significant upgrade from the existing daily flight to London Gatwick (LGW).
Italy will also get a boost in operations: the existing operations include 23 weekly flights to Milan Malpensa (MXP), Florence (FLR) and Rome Fiumicino (FCO). With the increase, five new destinations and 12 extra frequencies will be added.
Morocco is a new market for Vueling in France, with a strong competition: on the Orly-Tangier route, VY will compete with Transavia France and Royal Air Maroc, both operating four times a week. On the Orly-Agadir route, competition is even more fierce, with Transavia France and Royal Air Maroc offering daily flights and TuiFly six weekly flights.
What is your take on this massive expansion? Let us know in the comments!
