Airline looks to take flight with up to 196 new aircraft

Europe’s fastest-growing airline, Wizz Air, which has its second UK base of operations at Doncaster Sheffield Airport has signed an agreement to acquire 102 Airbus A321 aircraft neo (new engine option) family aircraft under a joint Indigo Partners agreement.

The order which was signed at the Dubai Airshow includes 75 A321neo (new engine option) and 27 A321XLR aircraft which will be delivered between 2025 and 2027.

Airbus employs approximately 4,500 staff at its Broughton factory, near Chester, which makes wings for all its commercial aircraft.

This order includes the option to acquire a further 19 A321neos under certain circumstances and purchase rights for 75 A321neo for deliveries in 2028-29 which will be converted into a firm order by the end of next year.

Including this latest order the airline’s delivery backlog includes a total of 429 planes – 34 A320neo, 254 A321neo and 47 A321XLR aircraft, plus the additional order for 19 A321neo and purchase rights for 75 A321neo.

The investment comes as Wizz Air looks to continue its proclaimed position as the most sustainable airline in Europe by utilising what its chief executive József Váradi calls the “most fuel and cost efficient aircraft in their class”.

Váradi added: “After two years in service, Wizz Air’s Airbus A321neo continues to provide market leading aircraft technology and choice – there is simply no other aircraft that can compete with it. With its next-generation engines, it has proven to be the game-changer that we said it would be when we placed our first order back in 2015.

“But most importantly, these are by far the most fuel and cost efficient aircraft in their class – supporting us in maintaining our position as the most sustainable airline in Europe and reaching our sustainability goals of reducing CO2 emissions per passenger kilometre by 25% by 2030. It is important to note that if all European airlines switched to a modern Airbus A320/1 fleet like Wizz Air and operated them as efficiently as Wizz Air, the whole industry’s CO2 emissions would reduce by 34% overnight.”

“Wizz Air is an ambitious airline with a strategy that seeks to grow the company and will continue to stimulate demand for air travel in Europe and beyond by offering the lowest fares and CO2 footprint to our customers, while still delivering a great customer experience on-board one of the youngest fleets in Europe. Our current average aircraft age stands at 5.1 years, well below the industry average (around 10 years), but with this new order we will see this drop to 3.6 years by 2024, and even further to 3.2 years by 2026.”