Wizz Air may conquer subcontinent with new Airbus jet

Hungary-based low-cost airline Wizz Air has already ordered many of Airbus’ possible new best-selling jet type, the A321XLR. The range of the new aircraft grew to 11 hours, which opens up American, African and Asian destinations even from Budapest. Where will Wizz Air go?

New Airbus aircraft capable of 11-hour-long journeys

According to Bloomberg, the new jet type will win certification as soon as this month, and Airbus already has several orders for hundreds of new A321XLR aircraft. Carriers plan to serve new destinations with the aircraft in America, Africa and Asia.

Airbus’s A321 became a bestseller since the company could eke out more range. The French could “pair the economic benefits of a narrowbody airliner with the reach and capacity approaching a widebody jet,” the news outlet wrote. Putting the XLRs into service was delayed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the flammability problems with its extra fuel tank.

Photo: FB/Airbus

The A321XLR “will effectively double the range from the original model that entered service at the start of 1994. Airbus plans to showcase the plane, for which it has more than 550 orders, at the Farnborough Air Show starting next week”, Bloomberg added. The rest of the article is hidden behind a paywall, but portfolio.hu summed up what we should know about the new jet type and Wizz Air.

California and Texas open up, and Wizz Air may conquer India

The new aircraft will be capable of making 11-hour-long routes because it consumes 30% less fuel than its predecessors. That is 4,700 nautical miles, which opens many destinations for the airlines.

For Icelandair, it makes it possible to fly to California, Texas, Dubai and European destinations.

For Wizz Air – with 47 new XLR jets -, it opens up Asia and the Middle East. Therefore, they conduct negotiations with the Indian authorities to launch new flights there. The new aircraft’s capacity will be 244.

Wizz Air 20th anniversary jet. Source: Wizz Air

IndiGo, United Airlines Holdings, and American Airlines also ordered new planes to expand their range in Europe and America.

Bloomberg wrote that there will be more limited space for showers and board bars on XLR than we got used to on A380s. However, Airbus designed and built a more economical type, expected to be another best-seller in the coming years.

Read also:

• Hungary’s second-largest international airport reopens after runway damage – Read more HERE
• Surprising Flightright results: HERE is how reliable Wizz Air is

Featured image: depositphotos.com