Two of the low cost carriers in Spain, Clickair and Vueling voted to merge last month. Now the final touches on the new entity’s organization are being published. Ironically, Iberia becomes the largest shareholder in its local competition.
The new airline will keep the Vueling name and the Vueling CEO will become the Chairman of the Board. The CEO of Clickair will take over day-to-day management.
These organizational maneuvers are being completed before the final approval of the merger by the governmental powers that be. Approval has been all but pre-ordained.
Iberia will manage some of the handling and maintenance activities of the merged airline.
Now comes the high travel season in Spain and the new merged airline will have to show its colors. Will it be a nimble and true low-cost alternative to Iberia or will it become a captured feeder for the national carrier.
The once vibrant low-cost airline community in Spain will feel the pain of this merger. However, both EasyJet and Ryanair as well as others maintain bases in Spain and the country is the focus of more low-cost carriers than any other country in Europe.
It looks like, these two merged Spanish airlines will keep on doing what they do best since the competition is so fierce in the Iberian peninsula.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
