The Clickair name will disappear from Heathrow in mid-July, but its services will continue under the Vueling Airlines brand and the company remains committed to the airport despite other low-cost carriers steering clear.
The move follows completion of the merger between Iberia-backed Clickair and Vueling, both based in Barcelona. Iberia will have a 45% stake in the merged carrier, with which it will codeshare on flights.
Vueling has not previously flown from the UK, but will operate the Clickair services between Heathrow and Bilbao, Seville, Vigo and La Coruna unchanged.
Former Clickair chief executive Alex Cruz will head the merged airline and its fleet of 35 aircraft.
Clickair launched in 2006 as a low-fare carrier targeting business traffic. Vueling is slightly older, with both it and Clickair distributed via GDSs.
Cruz conceded the Vueling name is unknown in the UK, but said it was recognised as a major brand in Spain. He said UK marketing of Clickair had been minimal, adding: “We will spend a little more now. But we show up on GDSs as a good option at a good price.
“The product will not change and there will be no reduction in capacity in the UK,” he said. “I could not say the Heathrow routes are our most profitable, but they are holding up. We prefer Heathrow because we are business-oriented. We will hold on to these routes and see if there are opportunities to add others.”
The date of the switch in July has yet to be finalised, pending final regulatory clearance.