- Bucharest
- Budapest
Budapest Ferihegy International Airport is the international airport serving the Hungarian capital city of Budapest, and the largest of the country's five international airports. The airport offers international connections primarily within Europe, but also to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and...
- Cluj
Cluj-Napoca International Airport serves the city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was initially known as Someşeni Airport as it is located east of the city centre in the Someşeni area, which is now within the Cluj-Napoca city limits. In terms of traffic, it is the fourth airport in Romania, after...
- Gdansk
- Katowice
{Infobox Airport| name = Katowice International Airport| nativename = Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy Katowice-Pyrzowice| nativename-a =| nativename-r =| image = Pyrzowice - terminal B.jpg| image-width =...
- Kiev
- Poznan
- Prague
- Sofia
Sofia Airport , also known as Vrazhdebna after the village located to the north, is the main airport in Sofia, Bulgaria...
- Timişoara
- Warsaw
Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport is an international airport located in the Okęcie district of Warsaw, Poland. Formerly Okęcie International Airport, it is named after the famous Polish composer and former Warsaw resident, Frederic Chopin...
- Wroclaw (Opens 17 July)
|secondary_hubs =
|focus_cities =
|frequent_flyer =
|lounge =
|alliance =
|website = http://www.wizzair.com/
}}
Wizz Air is a
HungarianHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
low-cost airlineA low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services...
with headquarters in
VecsésVecsés is a town of 18,673 in Pest county, Hungary, situated adjacent to Budapest's Ferihegy Airport.- History :The village was first mentioned in records in 1318. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the region had a dense network of villages and extant documents mention it as an ecclesiastical place...
, Hungary. The airline typically uses secondary airports serving many cities across europe.
History
The airline was established in September 2003. The lead investor is Indigo Partners, an American private equity firm specializing in transportation investments. The first flight was made on 19 May 2004 from
KatowiceKatowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about 50 km on north from the Silesian Beskids and about 100 km on south-east from Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Metropolitan...
, 19 days after
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
entered the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
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
CEOA chief executive officer or chief executive is one of the highest-ranking corporate officers or administrators in charge of total management...
of Malév Hungarian Airlines. The company is registered in Pest County (Hungary) with operating subsidiaries in Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. Wizz Air Bulgaria was established in September 2005.
József Váradi, Chief Executive Officer of Wizz Air, won the
Ernst & YoungErnst & Young is one of the largest professional services firms in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with PricewaterhouseCoopers , Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and KPMG...
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.{{citation needed|date=April 2009}}
In summer 2008 Wizz Air became the first low cost carrier in
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
.{{citation needed|date=April 2009}}
Services/destinations
{{see|Wizz Air destinations}}
Like
Ryanair{{For|the unrelated U.S. carrier|Ryan International Airlines}}{{Refimprove|date=February 2009}}{{For|the unrelated U.S. carrier|Ryan International Airlines}}{{Refimprove|date=February 2009}}...
, Wizz Air prefers to land at smaller or secondary airports to reduce costs and fees.
Wizz Air started new services between Katowice and London Gatwick in 2008. Winter destinations from Warsaw are Milan Bergamo and Grenoble. In January 2008, flights started from Gdansk to Goteborg, Bournemouth and Coventry. The airline also flys into London Stansted.
In summer 2008, Wizz Air restarted the summer only services from Katowice and Budapest to
GironaGirona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell with an estimated population of 95,000...
, as well as a new weekly service to Girona from
GdańskGdańsk, also known by its German name Danzig , is a city on the Baltic coast in northern Poland, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area....
. Other summer services from Budapest are
HeraklionHeraklion or Iraklion , is the largest city and capital of Crete. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece. Its name is also spelled Herakleion, a transliteration of the ancient Greek and Katharevousa name, , or Iraklio, among other variants...
,
CorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and its northern part lies off the coast of Sarandë, Albania from which it is separated by straits varying in breadth from 3 to 23 km , including one near ancient Butrint, while its southern part lies...
,
BurgasBurgas is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210,260. It is also the fourth-largest by population in the country, after Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna...
and
VarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in Northern Bulgaria, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, and 77th-largest in the European Union, with a population of 355,450 .Commonly referred to as the marine capital of Bulgaria, Varna is a...
, from Katowice to Crete-Heraklion and Burgas, Warsaw to Corfu and Burgas. They also restarted the three-times weekly service from London Luton to Burgas.
On 2 October 2008, Wizz Air announced that a number of their
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
services would have increased frequency following an order for three Airbus A320 aircraft. Services began 15 February 2009 from Timisoara, on 1 March 2009 from Bucharest, and 1 May 2009 from
Cluj-NapocaCluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
.
Wizz Air Romania
- Wizz Air offers destinations from the Romanian cities of Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital city, industrial and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmboviţa River....
, Cluj-NapocaCluj-Napoca , commonly known as Cluj, is the fourth largest city in Romania and the seat of Cluj County in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, it is roughly equally distant from Bucharest , Budapest and Belgrade...
, TimisoaraTimişoara , also known as "The City of Athletes", is a city in the Banat region of western Romania...
and Targu Mures.
{{see|Wizz Air Romania destinations}}
Wizz Air Ukraine
- The Ukrainian division of Wizz Air has been awarded licences to begin new services, see Wizz Air Ukraine
Wizz Air Ukraine is the Ukrainian division of Wizz Air which was created to start domestic operations in Ukraine on 11 July 2008.-Destinations:*Germany**Cologne/Bonn **Dortmund **Memmingen...
Wizz Air Bulgaria
- The Bulgarian division of Wizz Air has been awarded licences to begin new services to Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
and MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south....
. At the moment Wizz Air Bulgaria operates flights from SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
to London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
and DortmundDortmund is a city in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 587,830 makes it the 7th-largest city in Germany, and 34th-largest in the European Union....
, and seasonal services from the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
to BurgasBurgas is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210,260. It is also the fourth-largest by population in the country, after Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna...
.
{{see|Wizz Air Bulgaria destinations}}
From 26 July 2008, Wizz Air offered new destinations from
SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
to
VarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in Northern Bulgaria, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, and 77th-largest in the European Union, with a population of 355,450 .Commonly referred to as the marine capital of Bulgaria, Varna is a...
,
BarcelonaBarcelona is the capital, most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008. It is the 11th-most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris,...
, Valencia,
MilanMilan in Italy, is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an estimated population of 4.3 million...
,
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium...
and expanded the number of flights to London, Rome and Dortmund by commissioning another Airbus A320.
Service quality
According to customer reviews, Wizz Air is a 2 star line, which makes it comparable to, for example,
Ryanair{{For|the unrelated U.S. carrier|Ryan International Airlines}}{{Refimprove|date=February 2009}}{{For|the unrelated U.S. carrier|Ryan International Airlines}}{{Refimprove|date=February 2009}}...
,
Bulgaria AirBulgaria Air is the flag carrier airline of Bulgaria, based in the capital, Sofia. The company is owned by Himimport Inc...
,
bmibabyBmibaby is a British low-cost airline and a subsidiary of BMI. It flies to destinations in Europe from its 4 bases at Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, and Manchester...
,
S7 AirlinesOJSC Siberia Airlines , operating as S7 Airlines is an airline headquartered in Novaya Square in Moscow, Russia. S7 Airlines is currently Russia's fastest growing airline and recently passed Aeroflot as Russia’s leading domestic airline....
and
Aerosvit AirlinesCJSC "Aircompany "Aerosvit" , operating as Aerosvit-Ukrainian Airlines is an airline based in Kiev, Ukraine. It is the largest Ukrainian carrier, operating scheduled domestic services to 11 cities and international services directly or by codeshare to 20 destinations in Europe...
.
Calls to customer service cost around 0.65 GBP per minute, according to Wizz Air's own homepage.
Wizz Air also announces that it takes more than 30 days to process customer complaint mails and as of September 2009 no longer answers those requests according to many users of their recently sprung consumer complaint site. The website wizzairsucks.com was started to address customer's complaints.
Available statistics tell that 77 out of 100 flights were in time, 23 were late or canceled (eight were late, three very late, four excessively late, six canceled).
Fleet
The Wizz Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 4 September 2009)
http://www.ch-aviation.ch/aircraft.php?search=set&airline=WIZ&al_op=1:
| Aircraft |
Total |
Orders |
Passengers |
| Airbus A320-200 |
26 |
106 |
180 |
Twenty two aircraft operate under Wizz Air Hungary (a further two for
Wizz Air BulgariaThe Bulgarian division of Wizz Air was awarded licences to begin services to Greece, Turkey and Moldova in 2006. Wizz Air Bulgaria operates flights from Sofia to London, Rome and Dortmund, and already scheduled services from the United Kingdom to Bourgas during the winter season 2008-2009.As of 26...
and two for
Wizz Air UkraineWizz Air Ukraine is the Ukrainian division of Wizz Air which was created to start domestic operations in Ukraine on 11 July 2008.-Destinations:*Germany**Cologne/Bonn **Dortmund **Memmingen...
). It has firm orders for 80
Airbus A320The Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range commercial passenger airliners are manufactured by Airbus and are the only narrowbody in their product line...
s. All its A320s are powered by
International Aero Engines V2500The IAE V2500 is a two-shaft high-bypass turbofan engine which powers the Airbus A320 family , and the McDonnell Douglas MD-90. International Aero Engines is a consortium backed by four aero-engine manufacturers, formed in 1983 to produce the engine...
engines, including those to be leased from GECAS. The 99.5% technical dispatch reliability is well above the world average.{{citation needed|date=April 2009}} Maintenance is by the
Lufthansa TechnikLufthansa Technik AG is the leading manufacturer-independent provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul services for aircraft, engines and components. The Lufthansa Technik Group consists of 28 companies with more than 25.500 employees...
maintenance organization.
WizzAir declaredly has no hot-spare aircraft until its fleet reaches 25 planes (expected mid-summer 2009). In case of technical problem delays or cancellations are inevitable.
On 10 October 2007, Wizz Air confirmed an order for a further 50
Airbus A320The Airbus A320 family of short- to medium-range commercial passenger airliners are manufactured by Airbus and are the only narrowbody in their product line...
aircraft bringing its total commitments of that type up to 80 and an option for further 25 A320s.
During the 2009 Paris Air Show, Wizz Air signed a letter of intent with Airbus to purchase 50 shorthaul aircraft (possibly the A320) at a price of $3.8 billion.