Vueling vs. Ryanair: Weighing up the Perks & More

European expedition is just around the corner, and a globetrotter is in the becoming, but you can hardly figure out which carrier you should go for a thrifty getaway. The two names that pop up as soon as you utter the phrase “Europe” are Vueling and Ryanair. However, you can not fly with both at the same time, and the time to check out and compare the perks and services of each is gone now. Don’t frown! We got your back. Let us help you unravel the tangled mess of the two carriers, allowing you to pick one for your coming trip. Relax a bit and read on!

Quick Comparison Between Vueling and Ryanair

Both are european carriers, where Vueling is owned by International Airlines Group (IAG) and is based in Viladecans, Greater Barcelona, Spain. Meanwhile, Ryanair Holdings PLC takes charge of the other and is headquartered in Swords, Ireland. As a Spanish low-cost airline, Vueling is known for its affordability and convenience but often faces criticism for its flight disruptions and below-average customer service. On the other hand, Irish ultra-low-cost carrier Ryanair has been in the industry for over four decades and has a praise-worthy distinction for excellent safety measures. Still, it holds a bad reputation in terms of delays and cancelations. 

Route Maps of the two: Vueling vs Ryanair

Speaking of the network, Vueling is a young carrier compared to Ryanair, and hence, the network is not as vast as the latter. Irish low-cost carrier flies to over 200 year-round and seasonal destinations covering almost 37 countries, which is more than 29 country-web of Vueling. Both airlines have a vast route map and connect to several destinations with their hubs in various countries. Vueling serves its operational hubs in Barcelona–El Prat Airport, Paris-Orly Airport in Paris, and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Ryanair has bases in Copenhagen Airport, London Stansted Airport, Santiago–Rosalía de Castro Airport, Dublin Airport, and many more. 

You can take a look at the destination table of Vueling, where you can see it covers most of Europe, with its headquarters at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport in Barcelona. 

Vueling Destinations	Countries	Destinations
1.	Algeria	Algiers, Oran
2.	Austria	Salzburg, Vienna
3.	Belgium	Brussels
4.	Croatia	Dubrovnik, Split
5.	Czech Republic	Prague
6.	Denmark	Billund, Copenhagen
7.	Egypt	Cairo
8.	Finland	Helsinki, Ivalo (Lapland), Rovaniemi (Lapland)
9.	France	Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris
10.	Gambia	Banjul
11.	Germany	Berlin (Brandenburg), Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart
12.	Greece	Athens, Crete, Mykonos, Santorini
13.	Hungary	Budapest
14.	Iceland	Reykjavík
15.	Ireland	Dublin
16.	Israel	Tel Aviv
17.	Italy	Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Pisa (Tuscany), Turin, Venice
18.	Malta	Malta
19.	Morocco	Agadir, Casablanca, Marrakech, Tangier
20.	Netherlands	Amsterdam
21.	Norway	Oslo, Tromsø (Lapland)
22.	Portugal	Faro, Lisbon, Porto
23.	Senegal	Dakar
24.	Spain	A Coruña, Alicante, Almeria, Asturias (Oviedo), Barcelona, Bilbao, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Granada, Ibiza, Jerez (Cádiz), La Palma, Lanzarote, Madrid, Majorca, Malaga, Menorca, Pamplona, Reus, San Sebastian, Santander, Santiago, Seville, Tenerife, Valencia, Vigo, Zaragoza
25.	Sweden	Luleå (Lapland), Stockholm
26.	Switzerland	Basel, Geneva, Zurich
27.	Tunisia	Tunis
28.	Turkey	Istanbul
29.	United Kingdom	Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Manchester

Ryanair has its main operational headquarters at Dublin Airport and the largest hub in London Stansted Airport, United Kingdom. As you can see, it has more destinations compared to Vueling and also flies to farther destinations. Irish low-cost airline also flies to 8 more countries than Viladecans-based carrier. 

Ryanair Destinations	Country	City
1.	United Kingdom	Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Derry, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newquay, Norwich, Teesside
2.	Turkey	Bodrum, Dalaman
3.	Switzerland	Basel
4.	Sweden	Gothenburg, Malmö, Örebro, Skellefteå, Stockholm, Västerås, Växjö
5.	Spain	Alicante, Almería, Asturias, Barcelona, Castellón, Fuerteventura, Girona, Ibiza, Jerez de la Frontera, Lanzarote, La Palma, Las Palmas, Madrid, Málaga, Menorca, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, ReusSantander, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tenerife, Valencia, Valladolid, Vigo, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Zaragoza
6.	Slovakia	Bratislava Košice, Poprad
7.	Serbia	Niš
8.	Romania	Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași
9.	Portugal	Faro, Funchal, Lisbon, Ponta Delgada, Porto, Terceira Island
10.	Poland	Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Łódź, Lublin, Olsztyn, Poznań, Rzeszów, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wrocław
11.	Norway	Haugesund, Oslo, Sandefjord
12.	Netherlands	Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Maastricht
13.	Morocco	Agadir, Beni Mellal, Essaouira, Fez, Marrakesh, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Rabat, Tangier, Tétouan
14.	Montenegro	Podgorica
15.	Malta	Valletta Luqa
16.	Luxembourg	Luxembourg City
17.	Lithuania	Kaunas, Palanga, Vilnius
18.	Latvia	Riga
19.	Jordan	Amman, Aqaba
20.	Italy	Alghero, Ancona, Bari, Bologna, Brindisi, Cagliari, Catania, Comiso, Crotone, Cuneo, Forlì, Genoa, Lamezia Terme, Milan, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Parma, Perugia, Pescara, Pisa, Reggio Calabria, Rimini, Rome, Salerno, Trapani, Trieste, Turin, Venice, Verona
21.	Israel	Tel Aviv
22.	Ireland	Cork, Dublin, Kerry, Knock, Shannon
23.	Hungary	Budapest
24.	Greece	Athens, Chania, Corfu, Heraklion, Kalamata, Kefalonia, Kos, Mykonos, Preveza/Lefkada, Rhodes, Santorini, Skiathos, Thessaloniki, Zakynthos
25.	Germany	Berlin, Freiburg, Bremen, Cologne/Bonn, Dortmund, Dresden, Hahn, Hamburg, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Leipzig, Memmingen, Münster, Nuremberg, Paderborn, Weeze
26.	France	Beauvais, Mulhouse, Bergerac, Béziers, Biarritz, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Carcassonne, Châlons, Clermont-Ferrand, Dole, Figari, Grenoble, La Rochelle, Lille, Limoges, Lourdes/Tarbes, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Nîmes, Perpignan, Poitiers, Rodez, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Tours
27.	Finland	Helsinki, Lappeenranta, Rovaniemi
28.	Estonia	Tallinn
29.	Denmark	Aalborg, Aarhus, Billund, Copenhagen
30.	Czech Republic	Brno, Ostrava, Pardubice, Prague
31.	Cyprus	Larnaca, Paphos
32.	Croatia	Dubrovnik, Osijek, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar, Zagreb
33.	Bulgaria	Burgas, Plovdiv, Sofia, Varna
34.	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Banja Luka, Sarajevo
35.	Belgium	Brussels, Charleroi
36.	Austria	Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg, Vienna
37.	Albania	Tirana

Whose Fleet is better?

The number of aircraft is more Ryanair, but the average age of the Vueling fleet is younger in comparison. Furthermore, as you can see, the latter was only founded in 2004, so it is pretty obvious for the aircraft to be new. However, you must know that in the list of World’s Safest Low-Cost Airlines, Ryanair surpasses Vueling by being in the third position. Meanwhile, the latter stands in the seventh position. So you know who wins- Vueling vs Ryanair safety parameters. Take a look at their fleet for a better insight on how the two showcase their armada. 

Vueling
Aircraft	Passengers	In service	Orders
Airbus A319-100	144	6	—
Airbus A320-200	180 to 186	72	—
Airbus A320neo	186	25	8
Airbus A321-200	220	18	—
Airbus A321neo	236	4	5
Total		125	13
Ryanair
Aircraft	Passengers	In service	Orders
Airbus A320-200	180	26	—
Boeing 737-700	148	1	—
Boeing 737-800	189	410	—
Boeing 737 MAX 200	197	172	38
Boeing 737 MAX 10	228	—	300
Total		609	338

Reward programs: Yes for Vueling and No for Ryanair

If you are a frequent flyer and would like to be rewarded for it, then Ryanair is not a good choice. It does not have a loyalty program; instead, its CEO asks customers to “buy a dog” if they seek something loyal. The reason for the statement is that the airline already offers cheap deals, and looking for more benefits is a long shot. However, Vueling may bring a ray of sunshine with its Vueling Club. The membership provides passengers with Avios with every purchase to redeem for future services. 

Lastly, an annual membership, called Ryanair Choice, is where you get the benefits of priority boarding, additional luggage, and seat selection at a cost of €/£199 per annum. Yet, there is no specific traditional loyalty program for Ryanair passengers. 

Vueling vs Ryanair: Fare types

There is a total of five fare bundles for Ryanair customers, named Basic Fare, regular Fare, Plus, Family Plus, and Flexi Plus. Whereas, Fly Light is the cheapest option for Vueling passengers, with the other two better options being Fly and Fly Grande with the increasing order of the services and prices. 

Ryanair’s Fare Bundle options

It is obvious so see that Ryanair has more options with five different fare types with numerous benefits. Furthermore, the baggage allowance for the lowest fare is a small cabin bag. Still, the highest fare includes benefits like Priority Boarding, Airport Security Fast Track (where available), free Airport Check-in, Reserved seating, and no flight change fee.

Ryanair’s Fares	Basic Fare	Regular Fare	Plus	Family Plus	Flexi Plus
1 Small Cabin Bag (40x20x25cm)	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
1 10kg Cabin Bag (55x40x20cm)	X	✔	X	X	✔
1 10kg Check-in Bag	X	X	X	✔	X
1 20kg Check-in Bag	X	X	✔	✔	X
Free seats for children under 12	X	X	X	✔	X
Priority Boarding,  Airport Security Fast Track (where available), free Airport Check-in, Reserved seating, No flight change fee	X	X	X	X	✔

Vueling’s Fare Bundles Options

No shortage of flexible booking options for the most expensive fare type of the Vueling customers. Fly Grande can get you 4 Avios/euros for each flight purchase. Furthermore, the Fly option lets passengers with many baggage options, according to their choice. Plus, one good thing about Vueling is that you get Avios whenever you fly with them, no matter what fare option you choose. 

Vueling’s Fares	Fly Light	Fly	Fly Grande
1 Underseat cabin bag	✔	✔	✔
1 Overhead cabin bag	X	✔(Selecting this option during the booking process)	✔
Free seat selection during the booking	X	✔	✔
1 25 kg checked case per passenger included (except infants)	X	✔(Selecting this option during the booking process)	✔
Free cancellation (flight credit)	X	X	✔
Unlimited flight date changes	X	X	✔
Flight time change on the same day, free of charge.	X	X	✔
Priority Boarding	X	X	✔
Fast-track (at security control)	X	X	✔
Exclusive check-in desk at Vueling’s main airports	X	X	✔
Collect Avios	2 Avios/euros	4 Avios/euros	4 Avios/euros

As per Skytrax’s Vueling vs Ryanair review, the Spanish budget airline wins with 4-Star Low-Cost Airline, while the other only earns 3 points. Vueling has a loyalty program with a transferable currency, better luggage allowance, and positive reviews for its service and efficiency. Meanwhile, the Irish low-cost carrier is considered better for its safety measures but criticized over its internal refund concerns and poor customer assistance. Hence, Vueling is the winner of the critical examination of their safety, comfort, reward schemes, fare types, and baggage allowance. 

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