The Hungarian low-cost airline will station a sixth aircraft at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. This should arrive in July 2021 and will primarily be used to increase the frequencies on existing routes.

It is already known that the carrier will launch three new routes with Marrakech, Amman and Akaba in December 2021. The competitor Austrian Airlines has already reacted to the fact that Ryanair and Wizz Air will fight a price war on the Amman route and increased it to five weekly flights. Wizz Air announced the destination Sharm el Sheik from Vienna on Thursday. This should be operated on Tuesday and Saturday. The first flight is announced for July 2, 2022.

There will be increases as follows: Malaga will in future be served five times a week, Athens as well, Barcelona seven times, Chania three times, Rome-FCO seven times, Larnaka three times, Nice four times, Pristina four times, Split three times, Podgorica three times and Tel Aviv six times.

Wizz Air announcements at a glance:

Vienna fleet is converted to A321neo

Wizz Air also stated that the fleet stationed at Vienna Airport will be completely converted to Airbus A321neo. This should be completed in November 2021. In the first half of 2021 they had 104.353 passengers. The market share is estimated at nine percent. Taking into account the new announcements, the company offers 67 routes in 34 countries.

“We have a strong market position in Vienna and are the third largest provider,” said Wizz Air President Robert Carey. “We have 450 employees and five aircraft stationed there. A sixth Airbus A321neo will be added shortly. This comes in July 2022 and will generate 40 more jobs. " An application day for flight attendants is to be held in Vienna on October 18, 2021.

When asked about the compulsory vaccination for the staff, the manager said that this is necessary and that it will make a significant contribution to creating more trust in the industry among passengers. "I think this is necessary and inevitable in order to get through the pandemic safely and hopefully end it," said Carey.

Wizz Air increases at a glance:

Recruiting will be challenging

Many flight attendants have left the carrier because of the paycuts. The manager describes the search for new staff as quite challenging. But he is convinced that enough staff will be found across the network by next summer. “Our wages are competitive and fair. In Vienna we will employ six to seven pilots and around 43 flight attendants, ”explains the Wizz Air President.

“Vienna is a very competitive market. Ryanair is roughly on par. Michael O'Leary tells us that we are leaving Vienna. No, we are doing exactly the opposite, we are staying and expanding. Passengers benefit from this, ”says Robert Carey. When asked about the taxation of kerosene, he agrees with the competitor's boss: “Yes, I also assume that this will come in the long term. The industry will have to deal with that. " The Wizz Air manager generally and categorically rules out real long-haul destinations, for example in the direction of the USA. In the middle distance you will build up quite a bit.

Market shares should not be gained through price dumping

Carey, who switched from Easyjet to the Hungarian airline in June 2021, did not want to provide any information about whether or not Wizz Air flies profitably from Vienna. In the previous year, money was burned in the entire route network due to the pandemic. “We are not supporters of minimum prices because that restricts the population when traveling. We believe that traveling and flying must be affordable for everyone, ”said the manager. “We will continue to offer cheap tickets, but we will not gain market share through absolute dumping. We want to grow sustainably from Vienna ”For the year 2022 he expects 1,5 million passengers.

At the moment 2-3 machines, which are stationed on other bases, are used inbound in Vienna traffic. The reasons for this are different. For example, the slope in Kiev-Shulyany is too short. “At the moment we cannot take off or land with the A321neo in Kiev-Schuljany because the only runway is not long enough. That is why we use the Airbus A320 on this route, for example, ”says Carey.

When asked about repeated postponements of the Salzburg comeback, the Wizz Air President, who reports to CEO Jozsef Varadi, emphasized that they definitely want to return. “I assume it will be in the next few months. Unfortunately, the pandemic made it more difficult than we had hoped ”.