Skip to Content
Skip to Main Menu

Updated: 30th January 2020

Wizz Air On The Rise

The Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air has announced a strong set of figures for the third quarter of the current financial year despite the difficulties being faced elsewhere in the aviation sector.

The airline’s profits during the three months to the end of December 2019 were worth €21.4 million, against losses of €21 million posted for the same period of the year before.

On the same comparative basis, the number of passengers carried by Wizz Air went from 8.1 million to 10 million, while revenues rose by close to 25 per cent.

Those impressive numbers were achieved despite the travails and financial difficulties that several high-profile aviation operators have been suffering of late.

As Julie Palmer, Partner at RBR Advisory, explains: “Despite it being a turbulent period for the aviation industry, which has intensified over the last year with the administration of Flybmi and Thomas Cook, Wizz Air has remained on an upward trajectory with positive passenger and revenue growth.”

“By maintaining a low-cost model while expanding routes, the business has been able to achieve a healthy profit margin and adapt to changes in the market.”

“With the fallout from Brexit still impending, and proposals for an aviation duty to be introduced, 2020 could pose challenges for airlines such as Wizz Air. And airlines that are investing heavily in lower carbon flight technology are a threat. But with plans to introduce new routes across the globe and the struggles of competitors, investors will be feeling like they are walking on air with the company’s current standing.”

“By maintaining a low-cost model while expanding routes, the business has been able to achieve a healthy profit margin and adapt to changes in the market.”

A total of 719 routes are currently operated by Wizz Air, mainly across central and eastern Europe, with 154 destinations connected by its flights across 45 countries.

On the back of its most recent financial numbers, the company has said that it plans to invest in the near term to ensure that “new routes will be in place ahead of the all-important summer period”.

Wizz Air’s chief executive Jozsef Varadi praised his company’s recent performance in glowing terms, noting that the business has been able to boost its load factors while also improving its yields.

Mr Varadi describes the current trading environment as being “favourable with a relatively benign competitive environment, stable fuel prices and a positive yield environment”.

“In short, it’s been another quarter of significant improvement,” he said.

Close Menu