Vueling soon at Heathrow

SPANISH stock market regulators have cleared what was the final barrier in the Vueling – Click merger as reported in last week’s AERBT.  On Thursdaay (9 July) Clickair become Vueling and as such is a new arrival at Heathrow.  Iberia, who will own just over 45% of the merged airline, has been exempted from a rule which sets a 30% share ownership limit after which a full bid must be made.  Dealing specifically with the Barcelona – Madrid route CEO Alex Cruz says that, since the introduction of the high speed train in February 2008, rail passengers have gone up by 200% and competing airlines have lost a third of their traffic.  With competitive fares, and now six return flights daily, numbers have jumped by 30%.  Air travel accounts for 60% of passengers.  The non-stop trains cover the 621km (386 miles) between the two cities in just 2hrs38mins. www.vueling.com

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