ORDER - Spain's Vueling Airlines to switch to all-Boeing fleet

IAG International Airlines Group has allocated its entire firm order for fifty B737 MAX, comprising twenty-five B737-8-200s and twenty-five B737-10s, to Vueling Airlines (VY, Barcelona El Prat). The holding's chief executive officer, Luis Gallego, said during a quarterly earnings call that the long-term plan was to transition the Spanish LCC from its current all-Airbus fleet to B737 MAX aircraft.

The airline expects to add its first three B737 MAX in the fourth quarter of 2026, with the remainder scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2029. On top of the firm order direct from Boeing, IAG has purchase options for another hundred B737 MAX.

Vueling's chief executive, Carolina Sandra Martinoli, said that detailed deployment plans will be revealed later, but the first B737 MAX will operate out of the carrier's main base at Barcelona El Prat.

The current firm order would not be sufficient to replace Vueling's entire A320 family fleet, as the Spanish airline operates 141 aircraft. Gallego clarified that if the airline performs as planned, the entire transition would stretch through the early 2030s.

"We have announced today that the fifty B737s that we have on firm orders, we are going to allocate to Vueling. The intention, for sure, is that at the end of the process we replace the whole fleet of Vueling with Boeing product, but that is going to be dependent on the performance of Vueling. If Vueling complies with the plan that we have, then the intention is to replace the fleet. This is going to be a long period because we are talking about a lot of aircraft. So we are talking about maybe six years for the process," he explained.

The company anticipates incurring additional expenses during the transition, as it will temporarily operate a mixed fleet. However, Martinoli emphasised that the airline has a plan to contain the added costs.

ch-aviation reached out to Vueling and IAG for comment on the fleet plans.

According to ch-aviation data, Vueling currently operates six A319-100s, ninety-one A320-200s, twenty-two A320-200Ns, eighteen A321-200s, and four A321-200NX. The average age of Vueling's aircraft is 10.1 years.

CH Aviation