What is happening at Vueling? Media report now for 5 consecutive days about flight cancellations and huge delays. Apparently yesterday even police forces had to intervene at Barcelona El Prat to calm down the many angry pax. Rumours in the media about understaffing, not enough schedule margin for the operations, crew shortage, ... Apparently the entire management team was changed in just one year. Looks like a mess as they cant manage to operate their schedule... Can one of our Spanish forum members give more info or enlighten us?

This has happened every summer for a few years now, but this seems to be (far) worst.

Vueling in summer traditionally schedules too many flights for their capacity (planes and crews) even if they sublease a lot of planes (you can find anything flying for VY in summer, it is like a lottery ).

This summer as I said seems to be far worse for a number of reasons:

- Swissport (one of the aircraft ground handling companies) is having industrial action in BCN. This was BCN Airport this week https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K65iDnF1ZTQ

- Traffic is booming this summer in BCN (Arab spring, Turkey, etc). Bear in mind that last year was already a record number (so don't start with the crisis in Spain etc.). AENA (Spanish operators' company) is a now a publicly traded company, so they have no incentive to spend more money on staff. Vueling either.

So if you look at BCN Departures/Arrivals those days, pretty much everyone is delayed. Of course Vueling being the largest offender by average delay and number of delayed flights.

- ATC strikes from time to time in Italy and France this summer. Italy is a major market for Vueling and France is in the middle of any summer route Spain - Central/Northern Europe.

I wouldn't fly or connect with Vueling or via BCN in summer! If I had to go to Spain I would take Ryanair, Norwegian, easyJet or connect with Iberia in MAD which works as usual. How times have changed at IAG in Spain.

Btw I think this has to do with the recent history of Vueling, where growth came to them without doing anything.

- BCN (VY's main hub) has grown even during the Spanish crisis. BCN today is more a holiday than a business destination. So even during the crisis, growth at BCN was very healthy and that had obviously a very positive impact on VY. BCN had 20M PAX in 2001, 30M PAX in 2010 and 40M PAX in 2015!

- In 2012, Spanair went bankrupt. Spanair was undoubtedly Vueling's main competitor in BCN. So from 2012 they felt they had no real competition.

- Back in the day, Ryanair was in GRO and REU. They moved almost everything to BCN and now they are "friendly". Ryanair is now BCN's second carrier and has the highest growth.

- easyJet closed all Spanish bases during the crisis. Now they have reopened it. Norwegian has also opened a base, even offering domestic connections from BCN.

- Iberia has turned 180 degrees since 2011 and now they offer many more European destinations to connect (many people still connect the likes of DUS-MAD-SPC). More competition for their hub at BCN.

So Vueling has had 3 or 4 years where they felt they had no competition, growth was big so they could do as they please. But IMO this has changed now (Ryanair, easyJet, Norwegian; IB in MAD); let's see how they recover from it.

Vueling in summer traditionally schedules too many flights for their capacity (planes and crews) even if they sublease a lot of planes (you can find anything flying for VY in summer, it is like a lottery ).

I am sorry but thats not true. If you look at their turnaround times these are the same than the rest of the summer and winter. However, aog's have a bigger impact during summer peak.

The biggest weakness is handling which is tremendously inefficient and slow. Vuelibg should put extra pressure on its handling to improve their operations. Ive seen lots of planes ready to board but waiting for handling to proceed... Unless they work on that nothing will change.

Thanksfully crew are still not going on strike...

VY seem to have this issue again as already stated. You would think they would have pulled their socks up after happening last year. Seems not.

Quote : '' Vueling says those affected have the option of changing their tickets or obtaining a refund.''

No VY you need to get people to where they booked to as refunding is just the easy way out and at this stage would be a lot more for passengers to try to get new tickets on other carriers. They should be fined 500K a day for these unacceptable issues.

last week they had hired three of ZT aircraft to help out, a 733, a 757 and a 767

More than 70.000 pax impacted by the cancellations and huge delays this weekend, according to Spanish media. Apparently the Civil Aviation Authorities have invited the Ceo tomorrow to explain what is happening.

Oh I experienced this on Saturday at Barcelona. It was horrendous. First I traveled from Washington on Lufthansa. Got To bcn and huge delays in retrieving luggage due to Swissport labor actions. It took over an hour. Then I walked upstairs to the vueling check in for my connection on vueling to Menorca. The longest check in line I've ever seen. It took about 1.5 hours to check in. Then my 6:55pm flight to Mrnorca ended up being delayed 3 hours. Every single flight on the departure board by vueling said delayed. Minimum was 1 hour but most were 2-3 hours delayed. Nightmare at the boarding gate. The crew there was nice. They said this happens every summer. Vueling adds flights but they don't hire the staff so there are delays. It was an interestingly honest conversation. Glad to finally get to Menorca. A disastrous airline experience.

Quote : '' Vueling says those affected have the option of changing their tickets or obtaining a refund.''

Just how helpful!
Thanks for quoting above (lousy) message from VY: yet they dare say they are better than Ryanair!! Ha ha ha!!!
Go tell that to those who are flying out for a wedding (or a funeral), or have a connection on IB or BA. Or those who have bought a full IB ticket, only to find themselves bumped onto a VERY lo-cost carrier..

And don't get me wrong: I have nothing against low cost carriers. I personally LOVE Ryanair. You get what you pay, and they are very clear in their messages. And the fares can be very low. I like it when messages about who is what are clear. Vueling have messed up the message. They code-share with BA and IB -sometimes operate on "behalf of"- they also tend to give the impression that they are some sort of cool, hip, young fun airline. Yet their offering is purely lo-cost (and in no way better than FR). Their prices are often not very lo-cost too.. And do pray all goes well, as when delays happen with them (WHEN, not IF) then it's a real mess. Their ground support is non-existent.

VY have a really bad reputation in Italy. Last year they suffered many operational disruptions, and the { lack of } support they provide to their stranded passengers is appalling. At my home town airport, where they have a base, Police forces have had to intervene more than once to calm irate passengers. They have pretty abysmal operational records locally. I seem to remember that last year they either got an official reprimand from the aviation authorities, or they got fined?
I have personally suffered several some serious disruptions with VY, and the support they provide in case of delay is ZERO.
Then if you wish to complain or write to them, or make contact to somebody, the fun really starts... oh boy....
Trust me, FR are much better.
I'd rather undertake the longer trek to the nearby secondary airport where FR have a base than fly VY if I have the option. FR are much much more reliable, and a far more professional outfit.
I am just appalled that Vueling are a key element of IAG growth strategy in Europe.....

It's not just at BCN, my outbound LTN-ZRH flight (which should have been the inaugural service on the route) was cancelled due to "shortages". Fortunately, I noticed the email quickly and managed to rebook myself on the easyJet flight two hours later which had only a few seats remaining. The flight returning was also delayed. There was certainly no offer to rebook on an IAG partner, it was Vueling only.

There was certainly no offer to rebook on an IAG partner, it was Vueling only.[/quote]

Exactly. Precisely what I was referring to.

I remember reading here months back that someone was suggesting "BA could hand some of their LGW bucket&spade routes to their partner Vueling"... Let's keep these frightful suggestions to ourselves guys, ok, lest good old Willy thinks it's a cheap solution for Gatwick short-haul ops...

oldannyboy wrote:

I remember reading here months back that someone was suggesting "BA could hand some of their LGW bucket&spade routes to their partner Vueling"... Let's keep these frightful suggestions to ourselves guys, ok, lest good old Willy thinks it's a cheap solution for Gatwick short-haul ops...

Too late, they already operate routes from LGW to BCN, FCO, VCE etc. in place of what used to be BA operated rotations. The number slowly increases each year.

It is extremely terrible what is happening. I fly VY around 50 times per year, there is almost no other option from BCN (my hometown). Nonetheless I have never seen before what it has been going on around the last days. Despite their unbearable product, my experience with them hasn't been catastrophic until three weeks back on which flying to MAD I experienced a 4.5 hour delay arriving there at 4:30 am. I decided never again to fly with them their last rotation... Customer care was simply non existent: one person for the whole terminal. That's it. Their compensation was a 10€ discount voucher valid for 6 months for purchases with 45 days in advance and not valid for high season... Insulting!
On Friday I was again and the terminal was a total disaster, queues everywhere, at least 60% of VY's flights on the FIDS marked as delayed and terrible queues for check-in. Lucky for me I was flying UX this time. Spanish media are talking everyday about it several times per day.
I really hope that learn from their mistakes and that they compensate passengers because this situation is unbearable and unfortunately for locals we mostly have no other choice rather than them.

I saw yesterday in FR24 WAMOS B747 and Plus Ultra A340 flying with VY codes, apart from ZT 757 & 767, so I think they might be short of aircrafts.

Yes, my UX A330 on Friday was parked next to a Plus Ultra A340-300, it was actually very nice to see that bird here.

jasoncrh wrote:

Oh I experienced this on Saturday at Barcelona. It was horrendous. First I traveled from Washington on Lufthansa. Got To bcn and huge delays in retrieving luggage due to Swissport labor actions. It took over an hour. Then I walked upstairs to the vueling check in for my connection on vueling to Menorca. The longest check in line I've ever seen. It took about 1.5 hours to check in. Then my 6:55pm flight to Mrnorca ended up being delayed 3 hours. Every single flight on the departure board by vueling said delayed. Minimum was 1 hour but most were 2-3 hours delayed. Nightmare at the boarding gate. The crew there was nice. They said this happens every summer. Vueling adds flights but they don't hire the staff so there are delays. It was an interestingly honest conversation. Glad to finally get to Menorca. A disastrous airline experience.

Be sure to claim your EC261 compensation. 250€ will make it sting a lot less.

APYu wrote:

oldannyboy wrote:

I remember reading here months back that someone was suggesting "BA could hand some of their LGW bucket&spade routes to their partner Vueling"... Let's keep these frightful suggestions to ourselves guys, ok, lest good old Willy thinks it's a cheap solution for Gatwick short-haul ops...

Too late, they already operate routes from LGW to BCN, FCO, VCE etc. in place of what used to be BA operated rotations. The number slowly increases each year.

HOW SAD

VY was supposed to be leasing DOMINICAN WINGS A320 HI-968. The aircraft was even ferried to Europe, but never taken up... Any idea why this lease fell through?!

oldannyboy wrote:

Quote : ''
they also tend to give the impression that they are some sort of cool, hip, young fun airline. Yet their offering is purely lo-cost (and in no way better than FR). Their prices are often not very lo-cost too.. And do pray all goes well, as when delays happen with them (WHEN, not IF) then it's a real mess. Their ground support is non-existent.

Me too, I dislike them. Conceited. And some of their planes are rather crap. I have had some minor problems and delays with them, and not only in summer (the "onboard computer default" seems to be a recurrent excuse).

spantax wrote:

oldannyboy wrote:

Quote : ''
they also tend to give the impression that they are some sort of cool, hip, young fun airline. Yet their offering is purely lo-cost (and in no way better than FR). Their prices are often not very lo-cost too.. And do pray all goes well, as when delays happen with them (WHEN, not IF) then it's a real mess. Their ground support is non-existent.

Me too, I dislike them. Conceited. And some of their planes are rather crap. I have had some minor problems and delays with them, and not only in summer (the "onboard computer default" seems to be a recurrent excuse).

I wish your name-sake airline was still alive and well.... To think that people complained about Spantax because they occasionally were delayed in the crazy summer months!... Now, with all the mess that aviation has become, the problems that surround us, and the low-cost craze-rush-to-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-and all, I am glad we got to experience the merry season of European summer charters... With hindsight -and perhaps a grain of nostalgia- those were much better days for flying....
At least people were happy to fly. Now all you see around you is the long faces of those who are either bored of the chore that flying has become, or those who are hating the thing downright.
I do admit that flying, even for an aficionado like me, has become tiring and a lot more stressful.
And airlines like Vueling seem to be doing their very best to make sure we all finally get to hate the flying experience....

APYu wrote:

oldannyboy wrote:

I remember reading here months back that someone was suggesting "BA could hand some of their LGW bucket&spade routes to their partner Vueling"... Let's keep these frightful suggestions to ourselves guys, ok, lest good old Willy thinks it's a cheap solution for Gatwick short-haul ops...

Too late, they already operate routes from LGW to BCN, FCO, VCE etc. in place of what used to be BA operated rotations. The number slowly increases each year.

Incorrect. Yesterday (6 July) according to The BA Source the airline operated the following flights with the indicated aircraft:

LGW-BCN: BA2706 (A319 G-DBCI), BA2708 (G-DBCJ) and BA2710 (G-DBCB)
LGW-FCO: BA2542 (A320 G-EUYB)
LGW-VCE: BA2582 (A320 G-GATH), BA2566 (A320 G-MIDS) and BA2568 (A319 G-DBCA)

This is confirmed by the Flight24 web site.

Neither am I aware of any other former BA LGW flights that are now operated by VY.

Just noted that rather than reducing its services to VCE BA has moved from a twice daily LGW-VCE to a three-times daily LGW-VCE flight as recently as on 3 May last.

oldannyboy wrote:

spantax wrote:

oldannyboy wrote:

Quote : ''
Now all you see around you is the long faces of those who are either bored of the chore that flying has become, or those who are hating the thing downright.
I do admit that flying, even for an aficionado like me, has become tiring and a lot more stressful.
And airlines like Vueling seem to be doing their very best to make sure we all finally get to hate the flying experience....

Agree 101%. And then the overwhelming domination of those f.... A320/B737. Well, they are astonishing pieces of engineering, marvellous creations of the human race, but... so boring. So, yes, tiring and boring.