The IAG group will open an AI laboratory in Viladecans with 150 workers

The International Airlines Group (IAG) is betting on Barcelona on the 20th anniversary of one of its airlines, Vueling. The holding company will open an Artificial Intelligence (AI) development center in Viladecans, dedicated to improving operations and customer service. "It will be a laboratory for developing new ideas that we will export to the different airlines of the group," said IAG CEO, Luis Gallego.

The new laboratory will begin operating in the coming weeks in the building annexed to Vueling's corporate headquarters. Initially, it will have a team of 70 workers and plans to grow to 150 workers in one year. The staff will consist of current employees of the group, as well as new hires. Profiles such as data analysts, data scientists, and cloud specialists will be sought.

The Viladecans center of excellence will be complemented by another of the same characteristics that the group opened in London at the end of last year, where they already have 120 employees. "Barcelona and London are the two places where we want to be world leaders in AI," Gallego emphasized. This technology is intended to be used to improve issues such as incident management, predictive maintenance, and route design, incorporating more meteorological data to make journeys more efficient and reduce flight time and emissions.

The group will thus continue with the trend that began by launching the Hangar 51 accelerator, where disruptive technologies and different business solutions are tested. It is contemplated to link the AI laboratory with this initiative, through which IAG invests in a few startups each year to explore new products. "It's a matter of trial and error," Gallego said.

IAG positions itself as key to turning El Prat into a hub

The holding company, made up of airlines Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, and Level, and the cargo transport company IAG Cargo, represented 47% of travelers who passed through Barcelona Airport in 2023, with a proportion that has been growing since its inception in 2011, when they represented 30%. For IAG, its operations at El Prat have allowed it to position itself as one of the main European airports in connectivity, both in short, medium, and long-haul, occupying the fifth position in destinations and frequencies.

The IAG group is made up of the airlines Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and Level, and the cargo transport company IAG Cargo

In that sense, regarding the expansion of El Prat, the CEO of the IAG group has defended that the city has capacity for more flights and more planes, and has rejected replacing it with the development of Reus and Girona airports. "If you want to build a hub, long-haul flights need connection and this is provided by Vueling's capillarity, you can't have many point-to-point flights, more connections lead to more destinations. Doing it through Reus and Girona won't work, users want something as simple as possible, an easy transition, not moving I don't know how many kilometers and carrying your suitcase," Gallego remarked.

More than 6 billion to Catalan GDP and 6.8 million travelers to Barcelona

The group, domiciled in Spain and headquartered in London, has analyzed its economic impact in Catalonia for the first time. A report prepared by PWC has determined that IAG's activity contributed more than 6 billion euros in 2023, a figure that represents 2.1% of Catalonia's GDP and 17.2% of the community's tourism GDP. In terms of employment, it generated more than 81,300 jobs.

In Catalonia, IAG operates 122 routes ---96 international and 26 in Spain---, connecting with 118 cities and reaching 32 countries. Last year, it moved 24.4 million passengers with origin and destination Barcelona, with Vueling being the most popular, accounting for 21.6 million travelers (88.5%). Approximately two-thirds of users are international, with routes between Barcelona and London, Paris, and Amsterdam concentrating the largest number of travelers.