Clickair, Europe”s newest low fares airline, makes its debut in the UK on Thursday 2 February. It also makes history as the first low cost carrier to serve Heathrow Airport. It is taking over daily scheduled flights to Seville and Valencia and will operate under a codeshare agreement with Iberia. Clickair is flying Airbus A320 aircraft on morning departures to Seville and early evening flights to Valencia, offering 180 seats in single class configuration.
Clickair is so named because its prime source of income is via the internet, but unlike traditional low cost carriers (LCCs), Clickair will benefit from a far wider distribution by being listed on the GDSs. Clickair passengers will also be able to earn points on the Iberia Plus loyalty system.
Since starting revenue service on 1 October 2006 the airline, which describes itself as a third generation LCC, is building up to a 30-strong A320 fleet, taking one to two aircraft a month through to mid-2008. Clickair currently flies eight A320s. As well as its new services to London, Clickair will commence flights to Berlin Tegel and to Prague from Barcelona on 1 February. On 1 March it will add Barcelona ” Dublin, Frankfurt, Basel and Amsterdam. These new routes complement existing flights to Malaga, Seville, Geneva, Lisbon, Munich, Oporto and Seville and from Valencia to Milan, Paris and Rome.
Clickair, which has its headquarters at Barcelona”s El Prat Airport, is probably the most well funded airline in Europe for a long time, according to its CEO Alex Cruz. Clickair shareholders are Iberia; Nefinsa (parent of Spanish regional airline Air Nostrum); Spanish construction group Cobra (ACS Group); tour company Iberostar and Quercus Equity.