The Spanish carrier with the cheapest tickets is Vueling Airlines. The head office is located in the Spanish city of Barcelona. The company ranks second in terms of passenger traffic after Iberia Airlines.
Vueling Airlines, according to passengers, is a low-cost airline, that is, an airline that offers low fares in exchange for abandoning a number of traditional passenger services.
Beginning history
Vueling Airlines was founded fourteen years ago, in 2004, on the basis of two aircraft. Reviews for Vueling Airlines, whose business then consisted only of flights from Barcelona to Ibiza, were mostly positive. The company's management continued to develop the carrier. A year and a half later, Vueling Airlines, according to the owners, began to generate income.
The company occupies a leading position among low-cost airlines in Western Europe.
Extreme situations
Spring 2011 withVueling Airlines lost contact in the skies over France. The plane was immediately intercepted by a French Air Force fighter, as the G8 summit was taking place at that time.
In the summer of 2012, a Vueling Airlines flight was forced to land at Amsterdam Airport, escorted by Dutch Air Force fighter jets. The reason for the emergency landing of the plane was the suspicion that there were terrorists on board, as the crew of the plane crossed the airspace of the country without notifying the ground services.
Flight directions
The geography of the Spanish low-cost airline is extensive, there are flights to thirty-eight countries of the world in one hundred and thirty-four directions.
To Russia Vueling Airlines operates flights to St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Samara, Krasnodar, Kaliningrad.
Company fleet
Three years ago, Vueling Airlines' fleet was said to have consisted of the following aircraft: Airbus A319-100, Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A321-200. The average age of the company's aircraft is just over six years old.
Carry-on baggage rules
Vueling Airlines has developed certain carry-on baggage features:
- On board the aircraft, only baggage weighing up to ten kilograms, not exceeding dimensions of 55×40×20 centimeters, is allowed.
- In addition to hand luggage, according to passenger reviews of Vueling Airlines, you can take a bag or bag with souvenirs from the port shops into the cabin. Additional bag dimensions are notmust exceed 35x20x20 centimeters.
- Briefcases and small bags must be placed under the front seat.
- The top shelves on the plane exist for large carry-on luggage.
- For the safety and comfort of the flight, all passengers are required to comply with the allowable dimensions of hand luggage. If the dimensions are larger than the established restrictions, then the passenger must check in the luggage, making an additional payment. Customer reviews in the review about Vueling Airlines and its services indicate that the surcharge can only be made with bank cards.
- Liquids up to 100ml are allowed on the plane. The maximum volume of liquid per passenger must not exceed a liter. All vials with liquids are placed in a sealed transparent bag. One person can carry one package.
Baggage considerations
Vueling Airlines, as a low-cost airline, has certain baggage handling features:
- The price of a ticket for flights never includes the payment of checked baggage.
- All baggage must be paid extra (except hand luggage).
- The cost of baggage depends on the time of its payment: when buying a ticket or when checking it in before departure.
- The maximum weight of one piece of baggage is thirty-two kilograms, the maximum height is 2.7 meters.
- Maximum baggage weight per passenger is fifty kilograms.
- It is possible to check in the carriage of non-standard baggage (skis, snowboard kit, surfboard, windsurfing equipment,musical instruments, golf equipment, bicycles). According to passenger reviews of Vueling Airlines, customers use this service very often. One passenger can take one piece of non-standard baggage, which must be packed and protected. Most of the airports where Vueling Airlines is based, according to passengers, have special baggage belts for packing non-standard baggage.
- On connecting flights where one of them is operated by another air carrier, the highest ban fares apply.
- When traveling with children, you can check in two pieces of luggage (pram, carrycot or crib) free of charge.
Luggage insurance
Passenger luggage insurance is required in case of theft or loss of luggage. According to reviews of Vueling Airlines services and according to the opinion of the company's management, for a relatively small fee, the client gets the opportunity to:
- Operative search of luggage.
- Payments for damages in case of theft, damage to passenger luggage.
- Paying expenses due to delayed baggage, loss or theft of a passport.
Special Passengers
Women in an interesting position can fly Vueling Airlines without providing medical documents authorizing the flight until the twenty-seventh week of pregnancy. From the twenty-eighth to the thirty-fifth week of pregnancy, when making a flight, women must present a medical certificate from a doctor authorizing the flight. From the thirty-sixth week of pregnancy, women are not allowed to fly on Vueling flights. Duringairline ticket reservations do not need to indicate that the passenger is pregnant.
Passengers with more weight and volume can book an extra seat on the plane.
Traveling with children
Vueling Airlines has developed rules for traveling with children:
- Children between the ages of seven days and two years old are considered infants. The infant must be in the arms of the accompanying passenger. If a passenger wants an infant under the age of two years to sit in a separate seat, then he must have a certified child seat with him or discuss the possibility of providing it with the company's employees.
- One adult passenger can accompany no more than two infants. At the same time, one of them must be at least one and a half years old, and he must sit in a specially equipped chair in a separate place.
- Airplanes have a designated changing area for babies.
- Children between the ages of two and fifteen need to purchase separate tickets. A child aged two to three years can sit in a child seat in a separate seat if the passenger has one. Boosters cannot be used on an airplane. Failure to comply with the rules for purchasing tickets leads to the removal of children from the flight and negative customer reviews.
- An overview of Vueling Airlines services in different countries shows differences in the requirements for documents required for the travel of minors. If the child has his own document, the accompanying person must have it with him. All documents must be kept inhand luggage.
- According to the rules of the airline, you can transport food for a child in hand luggage (cereals and mashed potatoes in containers no more than 100 ml). According to Vueling Airlines reviews, it is convenient for parents.
- Barcelona Airport has a priority security screening line for customers with children. Even in the case of a connecting flight through Barcelona, a rental stroller is available at the port for the duration of the connecting flights.
- Vueling Airlines aircraft have seats for passengers traveling with children under the age of two, equipped with two oxygen masks. If a passenger wants to change their seat, they must ask the flight attendant for permission. An employee of the company will definitely offer the client another suitable place, if available.
- Flight attendants will obligatory give an adult passenger special seat belts and a safety vest for children.
- A child over two years of age wears a standard seat belt.
- According to company employees, it is better to seat children in a central place in a row or near a window.
- Special children's menus can be ordered on planes.
- As a sign of respect for other people, the company recommends the use of headphones when watching children's cartoons and films. Don't forget to bring your headphones.
Privileges for corporate clients
Loyal customers of Vueling Airlines, according to reviews, have a number of benefits:
- Manage all orders in one section comprehensively.
- Custom designed rates and offers for premium customers.
- More than a hundreddirections of direct and connecting flights.
Pros of the company
Passengers who have chosen Vueling Airlines as their carrier leave the following feedback on Vueling Airlines:
- Low (sometimes the lowest) airfare. The cost of the flight Moscow - Barcelona is six thousand rubles more expensive for the nearest competitor.
- Professional crew work. Pilots make soft takeoffs and landings. Flight attendants are very friendly, polite and smiling. Before the start of the flight, the flight attendants conduct a flight safety briefing, check the observance of the safety belt technique for all passengers, and help place children in special seats. In case of problems or difficulties for passengers, flight attendants immediately respond and solve all problems.
- There is a possibility of paid purchase of food and drinks on the plane, ordering baby food for a child.
According to reviews of Vueling Airlines, the air carrier's rating in the field of passenger service on board is high and growing every year, because the company is doing everything possible to win the love and loy alty of its passengers.
Cons in the company
Passengers who chose Vueling Airlines as their air carrier note the following negative points:
- Frequent and long (more than two-hour delays) flight delays. There are many cases of flight cancellations without proper notice to the company's customers. ATWhen flights are postponed, passengers are often denied free accommodation and meals until the next flight.
- Long and painful check-in for Vueling Airlines flights due to insufficient number of check-in desks. As a rule, check-in for all Vueling flights takes place at the same time, confusing passengers on different flights. Reception staff rarely speak Russian, they mostly speak Spanish and English.
- Spanish airports do not make announcements in Russian, even for flights to Russia (not all citizens of our country speak and understand a foreign language well). If you listened to announcements in Spanish and English and did not understand anything, then this is your problem, even if you miss your flight or do not hear information that the flight is delayed or rescheduled.
- Difficult interaction with company employees in case of loss or theft of luggage. It is especially difficult if the client has not taken out paid insurance.
- Frequent cases of damage to luggage, including non-standard, during its transportation and delivery to passengers. The client has the right to write a claim to the company in this case and subsequently go to court to recover their losses. There are very few cases when passengers bring the case to court. Basically, people satisfy their desire to achieve truth and justice by writing negative reviews on the company's website or travel forums. Writing a competent claim, drawing up a lawsuit, lengthy litigation and the actual execution of a court decisionrequires a lot of effort, financial investments and nerves of passengers. As a rule, frustrated customers try to never use Vueling services again. It is not always easy to do this, because, for example, on domestic Spanish flights, Vueling is a monopoly of aviation services.
- Lack of food and drink, according to company rates. This, most likely, is not even a minus, but the conditions of a flight without providing additional services.
Results
There is a basic feeling based on passenger reviews of Vueling Airlines: whose problem solves it. Yes, the European low-cost airline makes it possible to fly at a very low cost and even offers its customers a number of additional services (for example, when traveling with children), but if a passenger has difficulties or problems, then most likely he will solve them on his own.
