Review: Vueling Airlines A320-200 (BCN-RAK, VY 7332)

On Wednesday I flew Vueling Airlines for the first time, I boarded flight VY 7332 from Barcelona to Marrakesh. To be honest, prior to booking my trip I didn’t even know that Vueling Airlines existed. Vueling is a low-cost airline owned by Iberia. You can earn either Iberia Plus points or Puntos when flying Vueling.

I purchased my ticket from Iberia.com so I was able to enter my AAdvantage number from American Airlines for my reservation. Keep in mind that even though Iberia owns Vueling, it is not part of the oneworld alliance. You cannot earn miles/points on other airlines when flying Vueling.  I tried to switch my AA# to my Iberia # in order to earn Iberia avios that I could then transfer to British Airways avios, but the lady at the counter said that there was no need.

The check-in agent said I would earn miles on American and she said that I even got priority baggage delivery, which I did get. My miles have not posted yet to American and I don’t think they will but I will edit this post when I have a definite answer.

The Vueling staff were very nice. In Barcelona, Vueling is out of Terminal 1 (if taking public transportation take bus A1). We began to board on time and were only a few minutes delayed from the original departure time. The boarding process began from the back of the plane to the front, with the exception of priority passengers who were allowed to board whenever. There is no first class, just priority economy seating and regular economy seating. You are allowed 1 free checked bag and 1 carry-on item, which was my backpack.

The legroom space is almost non-existent. I’m of average height and I was uncomfortable due to the lack of adequate legroom space, see the picture below. They have an extensive menu for on-board food and beverages, the prices were reasonable when compared to European prices. No free drinks or snacks, sorry! However, in case you were wondering the bathroom was free to use.

The aircraft was clean and well-kept. The flight was smooth, including take-off and landing.

I paid $138.63 USD for my one-way flight to Marrakesh from Barcelona. Given the price I paid for the flight and the duration of the flight  (2hrs, 25 min) I would definitely use Vueling again, especially if I can earn AAdvantage miles for it. I would be more skeptical to use Vueling if my flight was 3hrs or longer.