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Wizz Air

Wizz Air
IATA
W6		 ICAO
WZZ		 Callsign
WIZZ AIR
Founded 2003
Hubs Boryspil International Airport
Katowice International Airport
Pozna-awica Airport
Budapest Ferihegy International Airport
Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport
Bucharest Bneasa Airport
Sofia (Vrazdebna) Airport
Gdask Lech Wasa Airport
Cluj-Napoca International Airport
Fleet size 19 (+80 orders)
Destinations 32
Headquarters Vecsés, Hungary
Key people József Váradi (CEO)
Luke Farajallah (COO)
Website: wizzair.com

Wizz Air is a Hungarian[1][2] low-cost airline with headquarters in Vecsés, Hungary. Focusing on the markets of Central Europe the company has operational bases at the Sofia Airport, Bulgaria; Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, Hungary; Gdask Lech Wasa Airport, Katowice International Airport, Pozna-awica Airport and Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport in Poland; Bucharest Bneasa Airport and Cluj-Napoca International Airport, in Romania; Boryspil International Airport, in Ukraine. On August 7, 2008 Wizz Air announced it would open its 10th base at Timioara Traian Vuia Airport, in Romania, in March 2009[3].

Contents

History

The airline was established in September 2003. The lead investor is Indigo Partners, an American private equity firm[citation needed] specializing in transportation investments. The first flight was made on 19 May 2004 from Katowice, 19 days after Poland and Hungary entered the European Union and the single European aviation market. The airline carried 250,000 passengers in its first three and a half months, almost 1.4 million passengers in the first year of operations and to date,10 million passengers. In 2007 Wizz Air carried 2.8 million passengers on its Polish routes.

The airline's CEO and chairman is József Váradi, former CEO of Malév Hungarian Airlines. The company is registered in London with operating subsidiaries in Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. Wizz Air Bulgaria was established in September 2005[4].

Wizz Air has been voted the best low-fare airline in Poland by the readers of pasazer.com, a travel news portal in Poland.

József Váradi, Chief Executive Officer of Wizz Air, won the Ernst & Young award of the 'Brave Innovator' in 2007. The prize recognized the break through in the airline business in Hungary and the region, the business model and the business conduct of Wizz Air.

In summer 2008 Wizz Air became the first Low cost carrier in Ukraine.

Services/destinations

Further information: Wizz Air destinations

Wizz Air started new services between Katowice and London Gatwick in 2008[5]. Winter destinations from Warsaw are Milan Bergamo and Grenoble. In January 2008, flights also started from Gdansk to Goteborg, Bournemouth and Coventry.

In summer 2008, Wizz Air restarted the summer only services from Katowice and Budapest to Barcelona (GRO), as well as a new weekly service to Girona from Gdask. Other summer services from Budapest are Heraklion International Airport, Corfu, Bourgas and Varna, from Katowice to Crete-Heraklion and Bourgas, Warsaw to Corfu and Bourgas. They also restarted the three-times weekly service from London Luton to Bourgas.

On 2 October 2008, Wizz Air announced that a number of their Romania services would have increased frequency following the order of three additional Airbus A320 aircraft[6]. Services will commence from 15 February from Timisoara, 1 March 2009 from Bucharest, and 1 May 2009 from Cluj-Napoca.

Wizz Air Bulgaria

Further information: Wizz Air Bulgaria destinations

The Bulgarian division of Wizz Air has been awarded licences to begin new services to Greece, Turkey and Moldova. At the moment Wizz Air Bulgaria operates flights from Sofia to London, Rome and Dortmund, and seasonal services from the United Kingdom to Bourgas.

From 26 July 2008, Wizz Air will offer new destinations from Sofia to Varna, Barcelona, Valencia, Milan, Brussels and will expand the number of flights to London, Rome and Dortmund by commissioning another Airbus A320 to serve the new routes.

Fleet

As of March 2008, the Wizz Air fleet includes:

On 10 October 2007, Wizz Air confirmed an order for a further 50 Airbus A320 aircraft bringing its total commitments of that type up to 80 and an option for further 25 A320s.[10]

Pricing

Wizz Air is referred to as a low-cost airline.[11]

In addition to the standard fare passengers must pay taxes and charges, a fuel surcharge, facility charge, air duty charge, passenger service charge, and security tax. Optional additional charges include fees for checked in luggage and insurance. Online credit card reservations incur a compulsory additional charge of 4 and telephone reservations incur a compulsory additional charge of 10, per passenger. Wizz now accepts payment by bank transfer for no additional charge. In total, all of these additional taxes and charges can equate to as much as 55 one-way.

External links

References

  1. ^ "Hungarian Wizz Air Opens Fifth Hub in Poland". Business Week. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
  2. ^ "Fliers reap benefits in Eastern Europe". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
  3. ^ "Wizz Air opens its 10th base in Timisoara, Romania".
  4. ^ Airliner World, January 2007.
  5. ^ "Wizz Air launches London Gatwick Katowice flight" (2007-08-09). Retrieved on 2008-05-05.
  6. ^ "Wizz Air adds three new A320 aircraft and doubles capacity in Romania - 15 new routes in the next six months".
  7. ^ Wizz Air
  8. ^ Airbus orders
  9. ^ Wizz Air Sale and Lease Back with GECAS
  10. ^ "Wizz Air orders 50 more Airbus A320s" Fligt Global, 10/10/2007
  11. ^ "Wizz Air offering new biz fare". CNN. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.


v  d  e
Airlines of Hungary
v  e
Members of the European Low Fares Airline Association (ELFAA)
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