Spanish airline Vueling has partnered with Bitpay, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin payment service providers, to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment by early 2023. This move will make it the first low-cost airline in Europe to accept Bitcoin as payment. 

In a press release announcing the move, Jesús Monzó, Manager of Distribution Strategy and Alliances at Vueling, said:

With this agreement, Vueling once again reaffirms its position as a digital airline. We are very pleased to have found in BitPay the best partner to offer our customers the possibility of making transactions with cryptocurrencies with the greatest security and reliability.

Vueling will also be partnering with Universal Air Travel Plan Incorporated (UATP), a payment solutions provider which connects airlines to alternative forms of payment. Together, they aim to build the infrastructure needed to accept payments by early next year.

Rachel Marowitz, SVP Partner Processing at UATP, described this as "an exciting time in payments, and we look forward to watching this partnership, and Vueling's use of cryptocurrencies accelerate quickly."

At the time of launch, the option will only be available for individuals on Vueling’s website. However, ticket prices will still be displayed in Euros, and customers may pay using any of the more than 100 wallets available in the Bitpay ecosystem. Along with Bitcoin, customers will have 13 cryptocurrencies to choose from.

"Vueling recognizes the potential of cryptocurrencies to transform the airline industry, making payments faster, more secure, and less expensive on a global scale,” stated BitPay’s Vice President of Marketing, Merrick Theobald. “Our goal at BitPay is to make the acceptance of cryptocurrencies a seamless process and increase its adoption, as we believe that cryptocurrencies are the future of payments." 

This move will see Vueling join a small but growing list of airlines accepting Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments.

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