BARCELONA, July 23 (Reuters) - IAG's Spanish

low-cost airline Vueling is benefiting from off-peak season

travel, helping it to break its own record last year of having

airplanes full at 91% of their capacity as remote working

changes travel habits.

Chief commercial, consumer and strategy officer, Carolyn

Prowse, said in an interview earlier this month that the rise of

flexible working has blurred the difference between business and

leisure travel, with some people starting a long weekend trip as

early as a Wednesday.

"I think the big question is: What's the new normal? What we

see from consumers is that not being able to travel made them

perhaps realise how much they value it, and combined with remote

working, it means that it's still a healthy demand environment,"

she said.

Vueling said its load factor, which measures the percentage

of available seats filled, increased over the winter, reaching

numbers above 90%, and particularly improving on Tuesdays and

Wednesdays.

On a Tuesday, it had an average load factor of around 90%,

while before the pandemic it would be below 80%, according to

data provided by the airline to Reuters.

As part of its increasing push on off-peak season travel,

Vueling said it currently offers 20% more seats in the summer

season compared to winter.

Before the pandemic the airline used to be more seasonal,

offering nearly 50% more seats in summers.

Vueling, which operates in Europe, Africa and the Middle

East, has been connecting with some long-haul flights operated

by Level and Iberia, also owned by IAG, as well as American

Airlines ( AAL ) and Qatar Airways.

It wants to bolster those connections as long as it does not

raise costs or make Vueling's operations more complex, Prowse

said.

Vueling currently connects with 25 long-haul flights

operated by other airlines and Vueling has said it sees a

potential for Barcelona to become a larger connectivity hub.

Vueling, founded in Barcelona in 2004, transported a record

36.8 million passengers in 2023.