Business 18 November 2025, 12:53pm

Light at the end of the tunnel is slowly coming into Wizz Air's view - CEO

Portfolio

'The light at the end of the tunnel is already visible,' said József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air, at a press conference on Tuesday regarding engine problems. He announced that another aircraft would arrive at the Budapest base and that capacity would be expanded. He also revealed that Wizz Air would fly to six new destinations from Budapest next year. Regarding the historically low exchange rate, his message to investors was that "now is the time to buy".

Wizz Air currently operates nearly a thousand routes worldwide, serving 200 destinations in 40 countries.

We are on a growth trajectory,

the CEO began his presentation. The fleet currently comprises 249 aircraft, more than 70% of which feature new technology.

"Everyone knows about the engine problems, but

we are slowly beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel,

said József Váradi.

The carrier's strategic focus is on Central and Eastern Europe, its strongest-performing geographical region. The CEO of Wizz Air said that life at the newly opened Bratislava base is very busy and will continue to be so in the future.

The trend line has recovered in passenger traffic, with the airline expecting to carry 72 million passengers in 2025, up from 62.8 million last year. There are some fluctuations, caused by Covid and engine problems, for example. There are now 75-80% more passengers than the company carried before Covid, while the industry is barely above 2019 levels. Based on this, Wizz Air is the clear winner of the post-Covid period, despite problems with the supply chain and an unfavorable geopolitical situation, József Váradi pointed out.

The company is not yet operating at maximum efficiency, as 35 of its aircraft are grounded. While not every seat that could have flown did fly, the efficiency of operations improved dramatically as more aircraft were in service. The airline has initiated a major reorganisation of its route network and is repositioning its fleet by ordering long-haul aircraft. However, it has managed to put the airline on a path of sustainable growth with double-digit growth, according to József Váradi.

Wizz Air is the largest airline in Hungary, currently operating 74 routes to 34 countries — close to József Váradi's personal goal of 100 routes. Of the nearly 10,000 employees, more than 4,000 work in Budapest.

We are effectively Hungary's national airline,

said Váradi.

We also operate government flights from time to time. We consider it an honour when the Hungarian government asks us to do so, as is the case in other countries,

he added.

Not only does Wizz Air operate here, it also runs a world-class training centre and carries out significant maintenance activities. Hungary is one of the maintenance bases for the Wizz Air fleet, and the daily operations centres of all three companies in the group are located here.

Wizz Air has made flying more accessible by allowing customers to choose what they want to pay for. This business approach is taking off, enabling further segmentation.

The 18th aircraft is arriving in Budapest. Further capacity expansion is on the way, with the annual capacity set to increase by 900,000 seats next year.

Total seat capaciy in Budapest is expected to reach 9.1 million this year, which is 44% higher than in 2019. Wizz Air has always considered Hungary to be a strategically important country, and one of its key objectives has been to ensure continuous growth. With a current market share of 38 percent, Wizz Air is the clear market leader in Hungary.

From 2026, Wizz Air will launch flights from Budapest to the following six new destinations: Tallinn, Billund, Skopje, Bergen, Lamezia Terme and Rimini, with more announcements expected. The airline is also expanding on several existing routes, including those to Warsaw, Marrakesh, Alicante, Bari, Tel Aviv, Bilbao and Baku.

Regarding punctuality, József Váradi announced a significant improvement compared to last year, with departures within 15 minutes of the scheduled time increasing by 20% and 75% of flights departing on time overall. According to statistics presented by the company's CEO, Wizz Air has the lowest number of flight cancellations in Europe at less than 0.3%.

In response to a question from Portf

In response to a question from Portfolio regarding the share price being below the IPO level, József Váradi told investors that

now is the time to buy.