Carlos Muñoz (businessman)

Carlos Muñoz Beraza (born 1969 in Murcia) is a Spanish businessman in the commercial aviation sector. He is founder of the European low-cost airlines Vueling Airlines and Volotea.^[1]

Since 2011, he has been the CEO of Volotea, an airline specialized in connecting small and medium-sized cities across Europe.

He began his career at the family business AMC,^[2] dedicated to the export of fruit and citrus juices, where he worked for seven years.^[3] He later joined the consulting firm McKinsey & Company in California, where he was involved in projects related to the analysis of the low-cost carrier model becoming his first contact with the airline industry.^[4]

In late 2002, he co-founded the company Evia (European Ventures in Aviation), which became the basis for the creation of Vueling Airlines.^[5] The airline began operations in 2004 and was listed on the stock exchange in 2006.^[6] In the same year, Iberia launched the low-cost airline Clickair, which became a major competitor for Vueling. Vueling’s shareholders supported a merger with Clickair, a proposal opposed by Carlos Muñoz, who left the company in 2007.^[7] In 2008, Clickair and Vueling completed their merger.^[8]

In 2011, together with Lázaro Ros,^[9] Carlos Muñoz founded the low-cost airline Volotea, focused on connecting medium-sized and small cities in Europe.^[10][11]

Volotea employs more than 2,000 people and is expected to operate around 420 routes in 2025. In the 2024 financial year, the airline reported revenue of €811 million. The company has 19 bases located in France, Italy, and Spain.^[12][13]