Hot on the heels of the news from Welsh First Minister Carwyn Jones, that Cardiff Airport will be rebranded and refreshed ahead of the 2013 summer season, Vueling, Spain’s leading low fare airline has announced a new direct route between the Welsh capital and Malaga, commencing April 2, 2013. Vueling started operations from Cardiff earlier this year with direct flights to Barcelona, Palma and Alicante, operated by Airbus A320 aircraft for the summer season.
“We have been delighted with the success of our Cardiff routes,” said Alex Cruz, Chief Executive Officer, Vueling. “The introduction of Malaga to our Cardiff network underlines our faith in this regional airport and further demonstrates our commitment to deliver low fares in the UK beyond London.”
“We are very pleased to meet Wales’ need for flights to Spain with the return of Vueling to Cardiff Airport. The airline’s quality has been well received by our market,” said Steve Hodgetts, Commercial Director at Cardiff Airport. “The new service to Malaga is particularly welcome as it’s a highly desired destination for travellers from South Wales and it’s great that it’s to be provided by the Airline of the Year.”
Vueling was founded in 2004 with two Airbus A320s serving four routes with the aim of providing excellent customer service at a competitive price. Eight years later, Vueling operates a fleet of 59 Airbus (57 A320 and two A319) at 74 airports throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, offering more than 14 million seats during the summer season 2012.
Vueling’s first flights into the UK and in arrived in London in 2009. For summer 2012, with an expanded UK route network, Vueling operated nine routes from four UK airports: London Heathrow to Bilbao, Galicia, La Coruna and Vigo; Cardiff to Barcelona, Palma and Alicante and from Southampton and Edinburgh to Barcelona.