Spanair prepares to move at Barcelona

Spanair and the Star Alliance members carriers serving Barcelona airport have begun preparations for their move to the new Terminal 1 at Barcelona Airport. This follows the announcement of AENA (the Spanish national airport company) that the new terminal will open 16 June 2009 and that the Star Alliance Members will be the first to operate from this new facility.

“At Spanair we are pleased to be given the unique opportunity of being the first airline to move into Terminal 1, along with our fellow Star Alliance members. Spanair and Star Alliance have a strong commitment in Barcelona and are well poised to harness the advantages of the new infrastructure in T1 as a platform for growth. We want to be the leading company in the T1, offering our clients a new flying experience, an excellent service and a wide choice of domestic and international destinations in conjunction with other Star Alliance airlines”, said Ferran Soriano, president of Spanair.

“The new Terminal 1 at Barcelona is finally allowing us to implement a ‘move under one roof’ project in Spain. On the one hand, the Star Alliance member carriers can now provide an improved ground service offer to their customers. On the other hand, with the correct infrastructure now in place, our member carriers can explore further hubbing opportunities with our member Spanair through the Catalan capital”, said Jaan Albrecht, CEO Star Alliance.

Spanair currently operates 756 domestic weekly flights to and out of Barcelona and 740 international weekly flights (including codeshare flights and the routes operated by the Star Alliance carriers).

In this new terminal Spanair will improve its customer service thanks to the big number of check-in and auto check-in and auto check-in counters, improved boarding areas and a new VIP lounge of 800 square meters, with maximum comfort and performance.

NEW VISUAL IDENTITY

Spanair has also unveiled its new visual identity. During last week over 80,000 customers and employees expressed their preferences between two different logo options on Spanair’s website, an unprecedented record of participation.

More than the 60% of the ballots cast chose the option named World. It highlights Spanair’s vision as a global company and therefore uses an icon which represents the world through an orange circle, crossed by the trail of an airplane. The logo recalls with sobriety and simplicity Spanair’s new efficiency.

The new visual identity is intended to express with greater accuracy Spanair’s current role as a global company, the first full service airline operating from Barcelona and the second in the rest of Spain, offering great connection possibilities thanks to its Star Alliance’s membership.

The renewal of the corporate identity will be applied gradually. The priority will be in its commercial uses and will have its big première at the opening of the T1.