Vueling Makes Boeing Switch

Vueling will be making a dramatic shift away from Airbus, instead opting for Boeing to help power the future of its single-aisle division.

The move was confirmed by the International Airlines Group (IAG) in its second quarter report, with the 737 MAX to be utilised for the future.

As part of the move, IAG confirmed that Vueling will fly up to 50 of the 737 MAX jets, part of an order placed by the Group in 2022 to enhance flight capabilities and encourage more airlines to transition to next-generation models.

Ultimately, while an enhancement of the Vueling fleet, it marks a dramatic shift away from a long-established fleet strategy which saw an exclusive reliance on Airbus aircraft.

Vueling will take delivery of its first Boeing 737 MAX from late-2026, provided this schedule does not slip further due to ongoing production challenges at the American planemaker.

As for variants, IAG has decided that the order, which is split into two variants, will equally help Vueling in different manners, with the 737-8200, a high-density model set to benefit thanks to 25 commitments.

Additionally, IAG previously ordered 25 of the 737-10. Although this aircraft remains uncertified, it is still the highest-capacity variant in the program. It will benefit the Spanish carrier tremendously as air travel demand only continues to increase based on forecasting.

Vueling’s All-Airbus Fleet

It has been an incredibly busy period for International Airlines Group, with Vueling certainly seeing strong growth and an increase in its fleet; in fact, capacity jumped 3.3% as part of efforts to increase market share.

Load factors across the quarter sat at 89.3% and represent solid perfromance after a more challenging period where financial perfromance was arguably not where it would’ve ideally been.

But the fleet remains one of the more interesting elements of this switch to Boeing. Vueling operates exclusively with Airbus, the A320 family.

The composition of the fleet sees the biggest reliance on the A320ceo, where fleet data shows there to be over 90 of the jets currently in service, coming in with an average age of 13 years.

Continuing with the airline’s reliance on the current engine option, on the smaller scale, there are a handful of A319S left in service. This aircraft type represents the smallest in the airline’s fleet and the oldest, averaging almost 20 years.

Lastly, on the airlines’ older jets is the A321 model with over 15 aircraft remaining in service, averaging just shy of 9 years.

In terms of the next generation of jets, Vueling has started taking delivery of A320neo and A321neo models over the last half decade or so and worked up a healthy fleet, albeit with challenges in the reliability of the jets.