Miguel Praga

✈ Vueling, IAG's low-cost airline, announces improvements for travel agency intermediation via NDC. The carrier is aligning NDC fares (Fly Light, Fly, Fly Grande) with its agency website offerings and has cut the NDC booking fee by half. They are also optimizing and unifying service fee bonus processes across indirect channels, including NDC, agency web, group web, and GDS. A new free agency support number, 931 220 220, has been launched.

🛫 Airlines connecting the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla with the Spanish mainland and operating domestic flights threaten route abandonment or frequency reduction due to unpaid government debts totaling €810 million as of January 2025 for resident subsidies of 75% on ticket prices. The concern escalates with a potential debt of €1.5 billion forecasted for 2025 amid extended 2023 State Budgets. The government's allocated €560.81 million in 2023 plus an additional €170 million from the Contingency Fund fell short as air connectivity with the Canaries and Balearics increased by nearly 18% and 13% respectively in 2024 compared to 2019. This financial strain risks the viability of routes and economic development, impacting travel agencies awaiting subsidized ticket management fees.

🛈 Agustín Almodóbar, the Popular Party's Tourism spokesperson in the Senate, warns about the "ignorance, passivity, and absolute incompetence" of Minister Bustinduy and the lack of influence and leadership of Minister Hereu, endangering the survival of the Imserso tourism program. Concerns arise in the tourism sector due to no improvements or modernization efforts for senior travel programs after recent meetings. Almodóbar calls for urgent action as contracting conditions for lodging must be reviewed; otherwise, no hotels will participate next season, leading to closures and unemployment for thousands. He requests an urgent briefing from Imserso's General Director, María Teresa Sancho, on new tender progress and changes, while pressing the Executive to disclose decisions on the new specifications, as the tender for the 2025/2026 season is already delayed.

👨 Imserso faces the challenge of publishing new tourism program tender documents within the next few weeks, a prerequisite for the public tender. General Director María Teresa Sancho promised earlier this year they would be ready soon. Experts suggest publication should occur by mid-April to avoid past delays. After the September 2024 break with Ávoris, there's a typical 30-day window for proposals, indicating a possible public contest in May. Hotels currently earn €25-26 per night versus a €34 real cost, while agencies make €14.50 per sold seat.

✈ Easyjet pilot Paul Elsworth, flying an A320 from Manchester to Hurghada, Egypt, was suspended after bringing the aircraft within 800 feet (240 meters) of a mountain on February 2. His immediate response to the cockpit alarms averted a collision. The plane was 3,100 feet (950 meters) above the 2,329 feet (700 meters) mountain, instead of the regular 6,000 feet (1,800 meters). Investigation launched; Elsworth temporarily relieved of duties; passengers likely unaware of the incident's severity; his son is a British Airways pilot.