Wizz Air results in 2017: record passenger traffic and many new routes
2017 has proven to be a very good year for most airlines, including low-cost carriers. Wizz Air reported 28 of millions of passengers carried on 2017, up 24% from 2016.
On the evening of 11 January 2018, Wizz Air held a press conference to present the results on 2017 and little of the plan for 2018. The following spoke: József Váradi, Chief Executive Officer Wizz Air.
Follow the whole Wizz Air conference
We all hoped for new routes, much more news for 2018, but they didn't come. This is a sign that Wizz Air is stopping its aggressive expansion that we have been accustomed to over the last 2 years and is moving on to consolidating the operational network.
Wizz Air results in Romania on 2017
Wizz Air is the largest airline with operations in Romania, having a market share of 34.7%, more than TAROM and Blue Air together. In 2017, it carried over 6.8 millions of passengers to / from destinations in Romania, up 28% from the previous year. And overall, the entire Wizz Air fleet carried 28 of millions of passengers, up 24% from 2016.
We mention that Wizz Air offered 7.6 millions of seats to / from Romania throughout the year. The result is a load factor of approximately 2017%. Does anyone dispute these very good results?
During the 2017 year, WIZZ launched 17 new routes from Romania and expanded its base in Cluj-Napoca and Craiova. He added two additional aircraft and thus created over 70 direct jobs within the company.
Wizz Air not only offers travel opportunities accessible to Romanian customers and visitors to the country, but also stimulates the local job market in the aviation and tourism sectors, supporting this year 5 400 jobs in related industries across the country.
In Romania, Wizz Air operates a fleet of 21 aircraft, which are allocated to the 6 bases: Bucharest, Craiova, Iasi, Cluj, Timisoara and Sibiu. At the same time, it flies from 4 other airports where it does not have aircraft based: Constanța, Suceava, Satu-Mare and Tărgu-Mureș. And the operational network has 143 routes, including Bucharest - Cluj.
Wizz Air plans in Romania for 2018
Even if no new routes have been announced NOW, that doesn't mean that Wizz Air won't come with 2018 news. No less than 15 routes will be inaugurated this year, which will connect cities in Romania with European destinations.
Wizz will continue to grow on the Romanian market, selling 8,8 million places, with 16% more than last year. Following the expansion already announced for operations in Romania, Wizz Air will have 24 aircraft allocated to the six bases, and the number of passenger-oriented employees will reach 950.
We remind you that in the summer of this year, Wizz Air will allocate an aircraft to SIBIU and an aircraft at IAII. But the launch of the new routes was delayed a few months. The planes will be allocated to the new bases from London Luton and from Vienna.
Confirming its commitment to the base in Bucharest, at the end of a record year, with 3,1 millions of passengers carried and an increase of 19%, Wizz Air announced that will allocate 10 aircraft to Otopeni Airport in June.
The expansion of the fleet will allow the company to launch three new routes from Romania to Athens, Gothenburg and Nice. WIZZ now offers 48 routes to 20 from Bucharest countries.
Wizz Air network on 2018
In 2017, Wizz Air carried more than 28 millions of passengers on its routes, with 24% more than 2016. 14 new aircraft joined the Wizz Air fleet, 13 Airbus A321 and an Airbus A320, making the total number of flight aircraft now reach 88.
The additional aircraft will create other 600 direct jobs within the company, and more than 3.500 of aviation professionals now work within the airline that has 27 bases in 15 countries, including the newest WIZZ bases in London Luton. in the United Kingdom and Varna, in Bulgaria.
Globally, Wizz Air has great plans for 2018. The fleet will increase from 88 to 106 airplanes, which will be allocated to the newly announced bases and existing dumps. As mentioned above, 24 aircraft will be based in Romania, which means just over 22% of the entire fleet.
Wizz Air will also continue to expand its network of routes, with seven other airports and more than 100 of new routes, which will mean an increase of the network to nearly 600 routes to 145 destinations in 44 countries.
Other important milestones for Wizz Air, which took place in 2017: were 146 orders for Airbus aircraft from the A320neo family; Wizz Air has changed its baggage policy.
Following the conference, we can draw the following conclusions: possibly other new routes (Sibiu - Tel Aviv; Bucharest - Vienna and Cluj - Vienna); in the unfortunate event of a bankruptcy at TAROM, Wizz Air has prepared a plan for the next 5 years; Wizz Air officials disagree with the unions, but seek to communicate as much as possible with their employees.