Flere ser muligheter med A321XLR - ATW

Wizz Air sees opportunities with A321XLRs

Dec 9, 2019Kurt Hofmann

Wizz Air deputy CEO Stephen Jones

Kurt Hofmann

LCC Wizz Air sees opportunities for growth as it begins receiving Airbus A321XLR long-haul narrowbodies beginning in 2023.

“Connecting nonstop the corners in our network system could reach up to 10 hours flying time. I think there are enough opportunities for the A321XLR,” Wizz Air deputy CEO Stephen Jones told ATW in Vienna. “There are 20 of these aircraft which are coming over two to three years to us. By then we will have more than 200 aircraft in the fleet, so less than 10% are these special-mission aircraft.”

In addition to its primary market, the Central and Eastern European carrier’s network includes destinations such as Kazakhstan, Dubai, the Canary Islands and Iceland.

Jones said several network opportunities were missed because some A321neo deliveries have been delayed up to six months. “This is more than annoying and costing us not only opportunities, but also money,” he said.

Wizz Air is in constant communication with Airbus and is working on some flexibility within its aircraft order. The airline is also in talks with lessors on some lease extensions.

“All our aircraft are leased. We keep them eight or nine years and then they leave the fleet,” Jones said. “The average age of our fleet is 4.8 years.”

Wizz Air also wants to increase its average daily aircraft utilization from 12 hrs. per day to 12.5.

“This year we had only 12 hrs. per day and we were very disappointed with that,” Jones said. Wizz Air’s aircraft operate 13.5 hrs. per day in the summer and 11.5 in the winter.

The Budapest-based airline posted a net profit of €371.5 million ($408.8 million) for the half-year ended Sept. 30, up 26.2% from €294.3 million in the year-ago timeframe.

“Now we have pretty good visibility for the entire business year, which looks promising. The winter is challenging as always with de-icing, passenger compensation regarding delays, etc. In the first six month we had a 94.6% load factor overall,” Jones said.

During the first half, 40% of the carrier’s growth was in adding frequencies and 40% launching new routes between existing destinations, he said.

“Those markets where we connect existing dots, we know a tremendous amount about. We know the data, the airport costs. Connecting those destinations is a very low risk decision that we make,” he said.

Wizz Air would like to expand further east, such as to Russia, but this depends on getting additional traffic rights.

One of those opportunities is St. Petersburg, where foreign carriers can use fifth freedom rights.

“Yes, we are interested in St. Petersburg. We are working on some things and hope to see some results in the near future. It is a great market and of big interest to us,” Jones said. “All in all, we have more opportunities then availability [of aircraft], that's for sure. By 2027 we want to operate 300 aircraft.”

Wizz Air’s A321XLRs are a component of the order placed by Indigo Partners, initially with an MOU at the Paris Air Show in June, for 50 aircraft of the type. Indigo, which has ownership stakes in US-based Frontier Airlines, Chile’s JetSMART, Mexico’s Volaris and Wizz Air, firmed the order with Airbus Oct. 30. Besides the 20 A321XLRs bound for Wizz Air, 18 will go to Frontier and 12 will go to JetSMART.   

Air Malta to begin A321XLR long-haul service from 2024

Dec 9, 2019Jens Flottau

Airbus

Air Malta plans to introduce two Airbus A321XLRs to its fleet in 2024 enabling the airline to launch its first long-haul services.

“An India connection is important if the local economy is to continue to grow,” Air Malta chairman Charles Mangion told ATW on the sidelines of the CAPA World Aviation Outlook Summit in Malta Dec. 5. “We need more people.” The carrier also considers launching services to New York to create a connection for the Maltese diaspora and take advantage of growing interest by US tourists.

Air Malta currently has a fleet of 10 A320s; three of them are A320neos. The airline plans to introduce two more A320neos over the short- to medium-term seeking to phase out the A320ceos over time.

The A321XLRs are to be sourced from Malta Medair, another carrier owned by the Maltese government. Malta Medair currently has one A320.

Air Malta has been making losses for many years and received a capital injection by its sole owner, the Maltese government in 2016. In line with state aid rules the airline cannot receive more state money until 2026. Air Malta has made a small profit in its last financial year as it moved from contracting to growth mode. While demand has grown fast with the local economy booming and tourist arrivals up, Air Malta also faces stronger competition than in the past, particularly from low-cost carriers.

Ryanair subsidiary Malta Air has 23 Boeing 737-800s, according to Aviation Week Fleet Data Services, six of which are based on the island.