Vueling is Spain’s second largest airline, operating as a low-cost carrier with its main hub at Barcelona El-Prat Airport.
It’s part of the International Airlines Group (IAG) alongside British Airways and Iberia, and maintains major operating bases in Rome-Fiumicino and Paris-Orly.
I’ve consistently found Vueling one of the better budget airlines in Europe, thanks to its branding and Spanish flair. That said, it’s still a low-cost carrier with all the confusing options, add-on fees and minimal amenities that implies. As someone in and out of Barcelona regularly, I fly with it often.
Fleet and network
Vueling’s network spans Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Thanks to its parent company, IAG, it has codeshare partnerships with British Airways and Iberia, which extends its reach substantially. The airline carries tens of millions of passengers annually across 300-plus routes to more than 150 destinations, operating a fleet of over 100 Airbus planes.
That Airbus fleet consists of A319s, A320s and A321s, meaning they’re modern and reasonably up-to-date facilities-wise. They work perfectly well for the short haul destinations it largely serves but can be a little more testing for the slightly longer haul stops like Tunisia and Algeria. Especially if you’re tall.
The airline has a fun policy of inviting customers to name its planes. While that admittedly sounds risky, it has resulted in some great ones. While I’ve flown before on the amusing ‘Vueldone’, I’m most keen to one day board ‘Air Force Juan’.
Fares and classes
Vueling is a class-free airline where everyone flies economy, though it offers grandiosely-named seating choices for a slightly smoother, roomier experience. The airline once marketed a business class called Excellence (two front rows with middle seats removed), but at just four seats per plane, it was widely derided as a rip off and quickly dropped.
Vueling currently offers three fare types (Fly Light, Fly and Fly Grande) and four seat types, replacing the previous four-tier system (Basic, Optima, Family and TimeFlex). While the idea was to simplify things, Vueling hasn’t succeeded. Instead, it has also introduced four seat types, some of which come with luggage and priority boarding, creating a smorgasbord of choice that’s more confusing than convenient.
Carry-on enforcement varies significantly by location. Spanish and Italian ground staff tend to be relaxed, while UK and French staff are stricter about size and weight limits.
I’ve seen passengers charged for exceeding both on several occasions, with gate fees reaching up to €75 for an oversized underseat bag and up to €140 for an unauthorized or oversized overhead cabin bag, so it’s best to stick close to the dimensions unless you’re willing to pay.
Fly Light
The Fly Light fare is the basic, most affordable option. By choosing Fly Light, you’ll get only the essentials for your trip without any extras. It includes just your ticket, a standard seat and one underseat cabin bag with maximum dimensions of 40x30x20 cm (approximately 15.7 x 11.8 x 7.9 in).
As with all low-cost carriers, Vueling lets you add a raft of paid-for extras so you can customize to your heart’s content.
Alongside adding individual services, you can also add packs, which are bundles of extras at a slightly better price than if you buy them separately.
The Luggage pack includes a 55 lbs (25 kg) checked bag and seat selection. A Fast pack includes a 22 lbs (10 kg) overhead cabin bag (55x40x20 cm), seat selection, priority boarding and Fast Track through security.
As a dedicated carry-on flier, I’d never go for the Luggage pack. The Fast pack is worth considering though, especially if you’re flying to and from a tourist hotspot in peak season. If you don’t add a selected seat, you’ll get one allocated randomly and can check in online from 24 hours before you fly (or seven days if you’re a Vueling Club member).
Fly
The next option adds free standard seat selection and includes a choice at booking between either a 22 lbs (10 kg) overhead cabin bag (55x40x20 cm) or a 55 lbs (25 kg) checked bag, usually for what I consider to be far too big an added fee. Standard seat selection includes Front and Back rows, though Space seats with more legroom typically require an additional fee or higher bundle.
Fly Grande
Vueling’s premium fare is the Fly Grande, which comes with most of the airline’s bells and whistles services. Both an underseat bag and 22 lbs (10 kg) overhead cabin bag, plus a 55 lbs (25 kg) checked bag, free seat selection (including Space seats subject to availability), priority boarding and Fast Track. It also allows for unlimited flight date changes (fare difference may apply) and free cancellation with a Flight Credit refund up to 48 hours before you fly. As a result, Grande is much more expensive and best suited to business travelers who may need flexibility on flight times.
Onboard – seats, legroom and facilities
Vueling offers four seat types with varying legroom: Front/Rear (standard), Space, Space Plus and Space One. The standard seats aren’t particularly spacious, which is one reason I’d suggest never booking a middle seat on a Vueling flight.
Space seats (located in emergency exit rows) offer 20% more room. These are just the emergency exit seats given a cool name, and as such aren’t available to children under 12, infants, pregnant passengers, or those traveling with a pet.
Space Plus seats in rows 2-4 offer up to 10% more room, while Space One seats in row 1 provide 20% more room. Both Space Plus and Space One take you to the front four rows of the plane with priority boarding and two pieces of carry-on luggage (one underseat bag and one cabin bag in the overhead locker) also included.
This effectively creates yet another fare bundle, as you can book a Fly Light basic fare and add Plus or One seats to get extra luggage and priority boarding. It’s a bit convoluted and makes it harder to work out the best value depending on your needs. But if you really want to sit at the front of the plane for quick deboarding, an included carry-on bag is a handy add-on.
Elsewhere, it’s the basics you’d expect of a budget airline. There’s no onboard entertainment, but Vueling is gradually introducing paid WiFi and power sockets to most of its fleet, though availability may vary by aircraft. Food and drinks come at a cost from a trolley and are nothing to write home about, although they do at least have a Spanish flavor to them. They even sell a specially branded Cacolat Go!, my favorite choc milk. Delicious.
Airport experience and lounges
The Vueling airport experience is comparable to most other low-cost carriers but does depend on the airport you’re in. At the hubs, and in particular Barcelona, you’ll find a dedicated check-in area in Terminal 1 with extensive counters, more staff and newer facilities, but also more passengers. Most have self-service check-in kiosks and dedicated automated bag drop lanes alongside the standard understaffed desks. At the smaller airports, expect just one or two desks but bearable queues.
Thanks to its long-haul network connections and partner airlines, Vueling offers a VIP Lounge service in many airports around the world, allowing passengers to book access to VIP lounges at selected airports as an ancillary service. These aren’t Vueling branded but rather use regular paid-for lounges incorporated into certain fares and addable during booking. Oddly, Vueling tickets don’t give you access to the likes of British Airways’ lounges despite their multifaceted partnership, so don’t expect premium branded lounge services despite that VIP moniker.
Vueling Club
Vueling’s membership and rewards club is worth joining if only to collect and use Avios points, also redeemable with British Airways and other IAG airlines. If you’re a Club member and a super regular Vueling flier (40 flights a year or 20 return flights), you’ll be automatically upgraded to a premium member. You’ll get a range of benefits, from a free carry-on bag allowance (one 22 lbs bag for the overhead locker plus one underseat bag) to Fast Track at security control (subject to availability).
Connections
Somewhat unusually for a budget carrier, and partly thanks again to its parent company, Vueling offers connecting flights to some major European destinations. You can book connections through Vueling directly to Barcelona, Paris Orly and Rome airports, using its partner airlines.
This is useful because it brings with it the assurance of booking your entire journey in one go. For standard connecting flights booked under a single reservation (such as via the Barcelona hub), your baggage will be checked directly from the origin to the final destination. And missed connections caused by delays are covered by your booking under standard airline policy and EU regulations, as long as Vueling is operating the flights.
The airline has also launched Vueling Global, a service powered by Dohop, that creates budget long-haul connections via a range of second-tier airlines around the world. These connections involve self-transfers, so you’ll need to collect your checked luggage and check it in again for the connecting flight. However, the service includes “ConnectSure” insurance provided by Dohop, which guarantees the connection and provides rebooking, accommodation and meal vouchers if a connection is missed due to delays or cancellations.
This KAYAK-commissioned article is presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the article are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others. Find more perspectives in our user reviews below.
