Wizz Air

Wizz Air suspended an additional flight from Budapest!

Wizz Air plane flight

Wizz Air, the Budapest-based Hungarian low-cost airline, announced in August that they would suspend nine Budapest flights from mid-September. Now they added one more route to that list. Here are the details.

Wizz Air suspended Oslo from its Budapest destinations. The suspension lasts between mid-September and end-March. The last flight in the direction of the Norwegian capital will take off next Friday. People having a ticket for the next plane scheduled to take off on 19 September will not be able to travel. They received a message about the suspension only two weeks earlier, this Monday.

Unfortunately, last-minute suspensions are typical in the business policy of Wizz Air, okosutas.hu wrote. Notifying passengers 14 days earlier is crucial for budget airlines. Provided they ran out of that time frame, they would have to pay compensation for their passengers.

The Hungarian travel news website states Wizz Air regularly finds excuses not to compensate people.

Okosutas.hu says the flight’s suspension is not surprising since that route is not too profitable. Despite the fact that Wizz Air’s planes land at Oslo’s main airport and their ticket price is cheaper than the Norwegian’s, the number of passengers choosing the Hungarian airline is low. Furthermore, you could book a ticket for the EUR 15 base price a day before, meaning the flight’s occupancy rate is low.

It might happen that the Hungarian government’s departure tax played a role in the suspension. No one can be certain since Wizz Air, opposite to the Irish Ryanair, does not communicate anything on the issue. However, they suspend their flights to Moldova’s Chișinău during winter.

Meanwhile, they plan to expand in the Romanian market. That is because Romanian airline Blue Air stopped its operation, meaning its capacities are free to take in the market.

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus
Read alsoRomanian government and Wizz Air also help Blue Air passengers

Romanian government and Wizz Air also help Blue Air passengers

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus

The Romanian government will assist in the repatriation of Romanian citizens stranded abroad due to the closure of the Blue Air airline, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca announced at the beginning of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting. The Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air said it would expand its presence in Romania.

The Prime Minister said that more than 2,000 Romanian citizens stranded abroad have appealed to the country’s diplomatic missions for help after the Romanian low-cost airline Blue Air was grounded on Tuesday. The government therefore intends to help repatriate its citizens in distress.

At the same time, the Prime Minister warned that the public authorities must recover from the company that caused the situation the money spent to help the company and its passengers.

At the end of the cabinet meeting, government spokesman Dan Carbunaru said that 5 million lei (HUF 408 million, EUR 1 million) had been transferred from the budget reserve fund to the Ministry of Transport to transport Romanian citizens who need it, in cooperation with the Romanian national airline Tarom and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

AeroAeroexpress new Hungarian airlineexpress new Hungarian airline1
Read alsoNew Hungarian airline born: they plan to connect Central European cities

Wizz Air’s acting network officer announced on Wednesday that the airline will launch three new flights from Bucharest, install five additional aircraft in the Romanian capital and be ready to take on Blue Air passengers. Evelin Jeckel, according to the Agerpres news agency, said that the new planes will bring the number of Wizz Air aircraft based in Bucharest to 17. The low-cost airline will increase the number of its flights on certain routes from Friday, and from the beginning of December, it will launch new flights to Prague, Athens and Larnaca.

Asked by a journalist, Evelin Jeckel admitted that the decision to expand in Bucharest was taken after Blue Air announced on Tuesday the temporary suspension of its Romanian flights. She added that they are constantly monitoring the market and are always ready to react quickly. He also said that on Tuesday evening, discounted tickets of EUR 49.99 were launched for Blue Air passengers and that if stocks are exhausted and it is deemed necessary, further discounts will be offered to those in need.

Blue Air announced on Tuesday that it will suspend all its flights to Romania from 6 to 12 September. According to the information, the flights have to be cancelled because the Ministry of the Environment has ordered the freezing of the company’s bank accounts, which means they cannot cover their daily operating costs.

Environment minister Barna Tánczos said on Tuesday that the company had accumulated a debt of 28 million lei (HUF 2.3 billion, EUR 5.7 million) to the Romanian Environmental Fund, and that it had been prosecuted.

Ryanair Wizz Air cheap tickets
Read alsoWizz Air expands in Romania — 3 new flights to be launched

Wizz Air expands in Romania — 3 new flights to be launched

Ryanair Wizz Air cheap tickets

Wizz Air is Europe’s fastest-growing airline. This is evidenced by its significant expansion in Romania, among others. Five aircraft will be added to the fleet’s base in Bucharest and 3 new routes will be introduced.

Wizz Air is adding seats to its flights in the region as early as 9 September. The new Airbus A321 will arrive on 4 October. Wizz Air has also announced three new flights from Romania. From 2 December, flights will be available from Bucharest to Athens, Prague and Larnaca. Athens and Larnaca will be served 4 times a week and Prague 2 times a week.

There will also be a change in the frequency of flights. More than 30 current routes will be affected. In total, the airline will add 2.6 million seats to the Romanian market. With the expansion in Bucharest and the addition of new routes to its Romanian network, Wizz Air consolidates its leading position in the region.

AeroAeroexpress new Hungarian airlineexpress new Hungarian airline1
Read alsoNew Hungarian airline born: they plan to connect Central European cities

“We are excited about the significant investment in Bucharest and Romania. We know how important air travel is to our passengers and we want to give them enough choice. The 13.8 million seats – offering extended discount services to 36 destinations in Romania – and the discounted tickets offered to Blue Air passengers underline Wizz Air’s commitment to the Romanian market. Currently offering nearly 200 routes from Romania, these developments and expansions will strengthen our leading position in the region,” said Evelin Jeckel, Deputy Network Manager.

Wizz Air also offers Blue Air customers discounted tickets. The Blue Air passengers concerned can book Wizz Air flights for as little as EUR 49.99 by providing their original airline ID.

Wizz Air
Read alsoWizz Air is ready to take the place of Romanian airline Tarom

Changes to come to Budapest Airport! – new investments and innovations

budapest airport taxiway runway

After the pandemic-infused hardships, Budapest Airport bounced back and tried to minimalize cancellations and delays even in the midst of the air chaos. Now, the airport is preparing for innovations and new investments. Achieving net zero emissions by 2035 is also part of the ambitious plans.

Chris Dinsdale, CEO of Budapest Airport gave an interview to Portfolio where he talked about the most important changes at the airport.

Budapest Airport is planning to reopen Terminal 1 in 2024

Tourism is expected to continue to increase in the coming years. Therefore, the Hungarian airport has to have constant progress and continuous development. “We do not want the increase in passenger numbers to be at the expense of quality, so we want to reopen Terminal 1 in 2024, which will receive passengers until Terminal 3 is completed.” – said Chris Dinsdale. They are only waiting for the government’s approval regarding the construction permit. The 3rd Terminal investment has already started with conducting studies.

Wizz Air
Read alsoWizz Air is ready to take the place of Romanian airline Tarom

Sustainability is the central theme of all the investments

According to the CEO of Budapest Airport, sustainability is a key element of the investments. For example, they have started preparing the studies necessary for the development of the airport’s geothermal heating system. They would like to replace the gas boilers with this technology if possible. Furthermore, the planning of a 7.5 MW solar park is underway. The airport’s goal is to achieve net zero emissions by 2035 at the latest. They also undertook to achieve the highest ACI 4+ rating in terms of emissions by the end of 2023. In addition, waste management is outstanding, recycling is 70 percent, which is double the Hungarian average.

How is Budapest airport’s traffic doing?

Although coronavirus has caused difficulties for airports, Budapest Airport is now content with the airport traffic. As we have written before, passenger numbers were close to 1.3 m in July. In the summer months, the airport reached 80 percent of the pre-epidemic level, and it expects 70-75 percent for the whole year. “The number of destinations available from Budapest is almost the same compared to the pre-Covid period, with the exception of the Ukrainian and Russian destinations that were canceled due to the war in Ukraine, and in the case of long-haul flights – for example, the United States, Canada, China – you still have to wait for the return.” – said Chris Dinsdale.

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Read alsoThe end of price caps means brutal inflation? People living in Hungary should be prepared!

Largest ever noise insulation programme

Budapest Airport is launching a substantial noise insulation programme in September. In recent years, 1,500 property owners have been able to take advantage of the opportunities available in the noise protection programme.  Now, they are extending this to another 2,500 households. In addition, for the first time, the owners of some properties in Kőbánya can also participate in the programme. – reports napi.hu.

Wizz Air is ready to take the place of Romanian airline Tarom

Wizz Air

Wizz Air continues its lawsuit against the Romanian national airline Tarom. Wizz Air is ready to take the airline’s place if it goes bankrupt, said Owain Jones, the company director of Wizz Air. 

Tarom’s situation is critical

According to napi.hu, Tarom is waiting for almost EUR 90 million. Despite receiving government support worth EUR 56 million over two years, Tarom is still in a critical situation. In the past few days, Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu also admitted that the airline is facing difficulties. If the court were to oblige the company to repay the previously received state subsidies, it would be the equivalent of bankruptcy.

Wizz Air crew Hungarian airline
Read alsoError in Wizz Air’s ticket booking system, here is how you may regain your money

Wizz Air continues the lawsuit

Wizz Air continues the lawsuit after the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the EUR 36.6 million state aid granted to Tarom last year to be legal. As magyarnemzet.hu writes, the Hungarian low-cost airline’s appeal is based on the fact that Wizz Air’s lawyers found that the reasoning of the EU body was wrong in seven points. Wizz Air thinks that the justification that it would have been difficult to replace Tarom’s service, and that the competition would not have been able to take over the place of the state airline, is unfounded. However, on 4 May, the Court of Justice of the European Union rejected the warning submitted by Wizz Air.

Ready to take over

Owain Jones said that Wizz Air is ready to take over the place of Tarom if the airline goes out of business, as it did in the case of Malév. However, they would only take over certain flights. At the same time, the company director noted that, for the time being, they are expanding capacities towards holiday and Western European destinations. Tarom and Wizz Air fly a total of 13 routes in parallel. But the Romanian national airline also flies to Amman, Amsterdam, Beirut, Belgrade, Hamburg, Istanbul, Munich, Sofia, Prague and Vienna.

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Read alsoNew Hungarian airline born: they plan to connect Central European cities

Error in Wizz Air’s ticket booking system, here is how you may regain your money

Wizz Air crew Hungarian airline

A Hungarian travel news website drew attention to a recent error in Wizz Air’s online ticket booking system. They automatically add a so-called system surcharge fee to each booking regardless of whether you must pay it or not. Below, you may read how you can reclaim that sum.

According to utazomajom.hu, they received many messages from their readers that Wizz Air automatically charges a so-called system surcharge fee to each booking. That is not the Hungarian government’s departure tax (or excess profit tax), which the Irish low-cost airline, Ryanair, passed immediately to its passengers. That is why the company received a gigantic fine in Hungary in August.

Wizz Air’s system surcharge fee is entirely new, but it is already on their website. However, you only have to pay it if you made your booking by automated systems. That is how the Hungarian budget airline would like to direct more and more passengers to their online booking system on their website.

However, something went wrong with the change because the system added the new fee to almost all tickets booked on their website. The extra fee is currently EUR 10 per booking. In the case of the return tickets of a family of four, that makes a significant amount of money. Furthermore, many people do not even notice it since the system adds it to the final sum only at the last step of the purchase.

Utazómajom wrote to the low-cost airline. Wizz Air answered that the new fee applies only to the tickets booked in automated systems. They said it rarely happened that their AI made an identification mistake. Therefore, some of their passengers are needed to pay extra fees.

Their team continuously develops the system to avoid such errors. Until then, they suggested their passengers restart the booking process if they experience such a mistake. Regaining the money in case of error is easy with the help of their customer service, Wizz Air added.

Utazómajom wrote that the company’s mobile application does not contain this error. If you want to be 100% sure you are not charged mistakenly with that fee, you should book your ticket using their app.

wizz air plane
Read alsoHungarian Wizz Air is the worst airline in terms of delays in the UK

Wizz Air pilot drew a penis on the radar image

Wizz Air plane

On Tuesday, a Wizz Air flight from London to Chisinau took an unusual route. The radar image of the route clearly shows a penis.

A Wizz Air flight from London to Chisinau was detoured on Tuesday. The journey, which usually takes 2 hours 50 minutes, took 4 hours 32 minutes this time, according to FlightRadar.

A reader of telex.hu is an air traffic controller. He claims that this manoeuvre is a normal element of air traffic. The plane may have drawn a penis on the radar screen, but the pilot had nothing to do with it. The direction of entry and exit is accidental. That means it was not a deliberate drawing. In commercial aviation, pilots have a much more restricted remit. First and foremost, they have the right of executive authority over exactly which direction they fly.

WizzAir drew
Photo: FlightRadar

Runway Wizz Air
Read alsoWizz Air compensation: some received some did not

Wizz Air compensation: some received some did not

Runway Wizz Air

On 15 May, Wizz Air left its passengers in Paris, who were supposed to fly to Budapest. The first news was that all victims were entitled to EUR 250. However, this was overturned on the grounds of weather conditions. There was a new twist: some people did receive the money, but the company said it was an administrative error.

The history

This spring, on 15 May, Wizz Air cancelled its flight from Paris Orly Airport to Budapest. Passengers were informed by SMS and e-mail that evening. The flight from the Hungarian capital could not land at Paris airport due to a major storm. As a result, the plane was diverted to Brussels.

The journalist of 24.hu would have taken the same plane home. He was stuck at the airport with nearly 200 other passengers. The Wizz Air customer service was unavailable. Airport staff helped people to get to various hotels at around 2 am. It was impossible to rebook for the next day’s flight. And Wizz Air did not send a relief flight. Many people were forced to fly home with other airlines at a much higher cost.

“When a crew’s flying time is up, the rules are clear: our colleagues can no longer fly that day. Returning home with no passengers on a plane is not ideal for us, but at least we can prepare the aircraft for the next day’s flights so that the whole schedule doesn’t fall over like a domino,” says Robert Carey, President of Wizz Air.

Wizz Air referred to EU Regulation 261/2004. Under this, if the airline cancels a flight, it is liable to pay compensation of between EUR 250 and EUR 600, depending on the destination.

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus
Read alsoWizz Air suspends lots of flights from September!

Still no compensation

Claims for compensation are supposed to be answered within 30 days, but this has been delayed in several cases, with the airline citing traffic. Wizz Air later said that as the cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances, no compensation would be paid, blikk.hu writes.

Wizz Air spoke out about the incident. “A passenger on the flight in question received compensation for an error in the administrative system, which was not due to him, and the passenger was informed of the error by the airline. The passenger will of course not have to repay the compensation sent out in error,” the company says.

Consumer protection proceedings against the company

The Ministry of Justice has recently announced that a consumer protection investigation has been opened against Wizz Air by the Government Office in Budapest. There has been a significant increase in the number of consumer complaints lodged with the consumer protection authority against the airline. The airline did not provide information, accommodation or reply within 30 days. It also operates a premium-rate call centre in violation of the law and the rights of Hungarian consumers.

wizz air plane
Read alsoHungarian Wizz Air is the worst airline in terms of delays in the UK

Wizz Air is re-launching two popular flights from Budapest

hotel resort hurghada egypt

Wizz Air is re-launching two popular flights from Budapest this autumn, with the low-cost airline flying to Hurghada in Egypt and Aqaba in Jordan.

Wizz Air will operate two flights a week between Budapest and Aqaba on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 3 October.

The low-cost airline will fly to Hurghada once a week on Saturdays from 5 November.

Fares on both routes start at just over HUF 20,000 forints (EUR 49).

As we wrote today, Qatar’s airports are not suitable to welcome millions of guests for this year’s football world cup. Therefore, they will need help from nearby airports. One is the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, or DWC, where the number of airlines buying extra slots is rising. One of those companies is Hungary’s Wizz Air, which aims to have its share of the increasing passenger traffic, details HERE.

 

Hungary’s Wizz Air aims to be the dominant passenger carrier for the Qatar FIFA World Cup

Wizz Air Hungary

Qatar’s airports are not suitable to welcome millions of guests for this year’s football world cup. Therefore, they will need help from nearby airports. One is the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, or DWC, where the number of airlines buying extra slots is rising. One of those companies is Hungary’s Wizz Air, which aims to have its share of the increasing passenger traffic.

If you search Qatar on the maps of the Persian Gulf, it becomes clear that the gulf state is on a peninsula and is only reachable from Saudi Arabia. During the football world cup this autumn/winter, millions of guests are expected to arrive to watch the matches in Qatar. Of course, the small state’s airports are not suitable to welcome that many people, so they will need help from nearby cities and countries.

One of the possible airports in the neighbourhood is the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central or DWC. Not surprisingly, the number of airlines buying extra slots at the DWC is rising. One of those companies is Hungary’s Wizz Air, which they call Europe’s fastest-growing airline. Now it seems they would like to have their share of the increasing passenger traffic in the gulf region.

According to marketwatch.com, the number of passengers at the Dubai International Airport surged in the first six months of 2022. They expect that the coming football world cup will further boost traffic there. Over the past six months, 28 million people travelled through the airport. That is 70 percent of the airport’s pre-pandemic levels, even though China is still closed due to the severe pandemic restrictions Beijing introduced.

Paul Griffiths, who oversees the world’s busiest airport for international travel, told the Associated Press that foreign football fans would flock to Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central or DWC. From there, they will travel to Qatar.

“We’ve seen a huge amount of demand at DWC for slot filings for airlines wanting to operate a shuttle service,” Mr Griffiths said. “I think the city has a lot to offer and a lot to gain from the World Cup.”

Griffiths mentioned three airlines buying extra slots to shuttle soccer fans to the tournament from DWC:

  • Qatar Airways,
  • FlyDubai,
  • Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

The ambition of Dubai is to turn the DWC into a mega-aviation hub.

Lately, we reported that Wizz Air planned to restart its flight to Moscow. However, they withdrew that decision after an international outcry. You may read further details in this issue in THIS article.

This year’s football world cup is exceptional. It is the first time a Middle-Eastern country organises the tournament. Furthermore, it is the first time the world cup takes place during autumn/winter instead of summer. That did not happen even during the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa, even though it was in the southern hemisphere where the seasons are reversed.

On THIS map, you may find the stadiums where the matches will be played.

Hungarian Wizz Air is the worst airline in terms of delays in the UK

wizz air plane

Evidently, we cannot expect an airline to be perfect and always be on time (or maybe we should?), but Wizz Air has been exceeding even our worst expectations recently. Huge delays, flight cancellations, leaving passengers abroad without any information – the results are inevitable, Wizz Air has just topped a list it never wished to. Read our article for more information!

Wizz Air’s bumpy road – or passengers’ bumpy road with Wizz Air

We often write about new flights that Wizz Air launches or plans to launch – for example, you can find our article about the Budapest-Saudi Arabia flights in 2023 here. However, we also share passengers’ stories about their negative experiences with Wizz Air. Just like a few days ago, when the Hungarian low-cost airline left almost 200 passengers in Madrid for more than 24 hours.

Now, as the end of summer is approaching, a new report has revealed the worst airlines in the UK for flight delays in last year, 2021. The airline to top the podium is none other than Wizz Air, thenationalnews.com reports.

The worst airline in terms of delay

“The Hungarian airline recorded an average delay of 14 minutes and 24 seconds on flights from UK airports, according to an analysis of data from the Civil Aviation Authority by the PA news agency,” reads the article. The low-cost airline operates an A320 fleet to 10 airports in the UK, including London Gatwick, Edinburgh and Birmingham.

According to the report, flights usually departed 5 minutes later than the average delay time for United Kingdom flights, which was 8 and a half minutes. Even though Wizz Air had huge delays, it was not the only airline to do so: Tui Airways had the second-highest UK flight delays last year, with an average delay of 13 minutes and 18 seconds.

As the article writes, the study considered all scheduled and chartered departures from United Kingdom airports by airlines with more than 2,500 flights. It did not take cancelled flights into consideration.

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus
Read alsoWizz Air suspends lots of flights from September!

Wizz Air left 200 passengers in Madrid for a day

The Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air is famous, especially lately, for regularly abandoning its passengers at airports without any information, for various reasons. This was no different this time: instead of leaving on the evening of 24 August, a flight from Madrid to Budapest only left on the evening of 25 August.

Waiting for a whole day

A Wizz Air passenger has contacted Index.hu with a recent airport incident in which the airline has kept passengers waiting for a day to return home. According to the reader, they have not received any information for more than 20 hours about the flight, which eventually departed late on the 25th instead of in the evening of 24 August, after the midday take-off was delayed further and further.

The last time Wizz Air did not bring its passengers home from Paris. According to the airline, it is not at all impossible that such incidents will happen again, given the huge staff shortage.

Almost 200 people were left without information

Petra Nagy sent her detailed account of the incident to Index. According to her Facebook post, the plane was due to leave Madrid for Budapest on Wednesday evening with almost 200 people on board. Some of them were already on board, the others were in the corridor when they were led off.

After being removed from the plane, there was a four-hour wait, during which the airline did not inform its passengers why they had to leave the plane. They heard that the plane had been struck by lightning and was being repaired.

Titanic feelings, 26-hour delay

On Thursday, they did not depart until 12.30 AM, and it was only after waiting at the airport in the middle of the night that passengers collected their checked baggage. The 200 passengers then had to queue for more than an hour to sign a paper stating whether they wanted to stay in a hotel for the night. The waiting didn’t end there either: by 2 AM, a bus could be ordered for the 200 people, which was only able to take them to the hotel in three or four rounds.

According to Nagy, women and children were the first to board the bus, which reminded her of the Titanic shipwreck. She said, “I was starting to get a bit of a Titanic feeling here”. Petra was able to check into her hotel room at a quarter past three in the morning. She found out that she could fly home at noon on Thursday.

That noon eventually turned into almost 11 PM. According to the latest information from Index, they were able to take off at 10.45 PM, a delay of more than 26 hours.

Refugee family Hungarian border
Read alsoRefugee family detained at Hungarian border for months wins lawsuit against the state

Wizz Air to launch Budapest-Saudi Arabia flights in 2023

Wizz Air Hungary

Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air said on Thursday that it will launch three flights connecting Budapest with destinations in Saudi Arabia next year.

Jeddah on the Red Sea coast and Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, will be available to Wizz Air passengers from January 2023, and Dammam on the Persian Gulf from April 2023.

According to the announcement, flights from Budapest to Riyadh and from Budapest to Jeddah will be available on Mondays and Fridays and on Tuesdays and Saturdays, while flights from the Hungarian capital to Dammam will be available on Thursdays and Sundays.

Ryanair
Read alsoRyanair refuses to pay Hungary’s departure tax: appeal submitted

More information on tickets can be found on the official Wizz Air website and mobile app.

The airline said that when booking, passengers can make use of the Wizz Flex service, which allows passengers to reschedule their booking to another Wizz Air flight in case of an unexpected event, date or route change.

Wizz Air, Europe’s fastest growing low-cost airline, currently operates a fleet of 160 Airbus A320, A321, A320neo and A321neo aircraft with an average age of five years.

Lufthansa Budapest Jewish passengers
Read alsoTwo airlines cancelling thousands of flights, Hungary also affected!

Attention! Wizz Air introduces important changes concerning everybody

Wizz Air Hungary

The Hungary-based low-cost airline, Wizz Air, regularly introduces new rules and routes to make its operation more profitable and offer the best service possible for its passengers. The latest news about the airline was that they would like to reopen their route to Moscow, Russia. They closed that after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, they changed their mind due to the strong criticism they received and postponed the reopening. Now they have introduced a change that concerns everybody. Below you may read the details.

Okosutas.hu says that Wizz Air’s baggage options were difficult enough before. But now, they changed the rules and introduced a new category. The Hungarian travel news website believes they made the system even harder to understand.

Up to now, there were three baggage categories at the low-cost airline. These were, consequently, the 10, 20, and 32 kilos. With their latest decision, the airline introduced a new one, the 26 kilos category. Okosutas.hu says those above 20 but below 32 can be satisfied, but they are not too many.

The news website could not share details about the pricing because that is dynamic regarding each baggage option. They claim Wizz Air keeps the chaos intentionally to blind the passengers. That is because the airline competes with the basic ticket prices on the market. You buy that so you are happy that you can travel for cheap. However, later you may learn that the costs go up significantly after baggage is included. However, people tend to pay anyway reaching that step instead of complaining or rebooking their flight at another company.

Okosutas.hu says everybody should consider that the biggest element of the Hungarian airline’s revenue comes from baggage costs and other extras. Ticket prices, in that regard, are less significant.

The pricing system of Wizz Air is dynamic. Sometimes it is worth taking our baggage in the 10 kilos category on board. In other cases, it is better to label it as hold baggage. But okosutas.hu found flights in which that rule applies even for the luggage in the 20 kilos category.

The lesson is that everybody should carefully check how much their baggage costs because it might be more expensive than the ticket.

 

Wizz Air
Read alsoWizz Air left its passengers boiling for half a day in 40 °C waiting room

Air chaos across Europe: Can we still afford to book flight tickets from September?

ryanair wizz air

After dozens of flight cancellations and passengers being stranded at several European airports in the summer months, we are now finding out how much it will cost to fly from autumn. Can we still afford to book flight tickets from September, or will increasing ticket prices make us forget about air travel in the upcoming period?

This summer has seen air chaos across Europe due to cancellations and delays of low-cost flights. There have been several issues in the last couple of months. Tourists stranded at European airports, lost or forgotten luggage, extra costs passed on to passengers and even the consumer protection procedure launched and won in the first round by the Hungarian government. And it is still not the end.

Reasons and upcoming difficulties

The upcoming months will bring new challenges for airlines and, thus, for tourists who plan to travel in the autumn. One reason is that fuel prices have risen significantly as a result of the war in Ukraine, where countries have imposed trade restrictions on oil from Russia. Lower demand at the time of the pandemic turned into a sudden increase in demand after the restrictions were lifted, putting a strain on immediately available oil supplies – reported by Roadster. Another important factor is labour shortage. Although the number of people wanting to fly has increased significantly, the pandemic has still left much of the aviation industry with reduced human resources. In addition, there is also constant dissatisfaction among existing workers, who are protesting across Europe in the hope of higher salaries and better working conditions. For this reason, many airlines have reduced their flights to avoid possible mass delays and cancellations due to weather and staffing problems. Scott’s Cheap Flights estimates that there are currently 15-20 percent fewer flights than needed.

Declining travel demand

However, the situation has improved somewhat with the reduction in the number of flights in July. In June, with several last-minute cancellations a day, many flights were delayed for 2-3 hours or more. Today there are only a few major delays a day. Even the performance of Wizz at Gatwick, which is usually the most delayed flight, is improving steadily – reported by Forbes. However, there is no news of this in the press, news portals rather report about the extreme, chaotic situations. After an incredibly strong touristic season in the summer, the effect of media may have had something to do with the autumn ticket prices that have started to drop in recent weeks. Additionally, the continuously increasing inflation, the gas crisis and the risk of recession are also among the factors due to which people are giving up on travelling, and rather save money for the forthcoming period.

Is the era of cheap tickets over?

Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair, recently said that the era of the €10 ticket is coming to an end and that passengers will not see such offers in the coming years. Up to now, this tendency could be experienced in the latest two months. Airline costs have risen brutally in the last period, mainly due to the skyrocketing fuel prices. As a result, low-cost airlines have only been able to fill their planes at high prices during this short summer peak. However, the pricing strategy might change for the autumn due to the declining travel demand.

As for now, there is indeed a price increase in the cheapest ticket category, but the difference is not significant. Numerically, the most popular €10 tickets are offered for €15 for the autumn-winter period by the two cheapest low-cost operators. However, we can still choose some routes to Budapest for less than €10 which is even cheaper than the HUF 3,900 (~EUR 9,54) passenger tax. In addition, many destinations are still available from Budapest for the same price. Therefore, for the vast majority of passengers, ticket prices will not be the primary determinant of whether to take the next trip.

Ryanair Wizz Air cheap tickets
Read alsoWanna’ travel? Ryanair offers some very cheap ticktets from Budapest!

Readers’ letters from Norway – Wizzair left us stranded

wizzair emergency landing

There used to be a lot of complaints about Wizz Air’s services, but now the number of complaints has increased. One of our readers tells his story, and none of us would want to be in his shoes:

I had a plan to spend my summer vacation in Tenerife/Spain this year,

My journey as a family of 2 adults and 2 children was to travel from Bergen( Norway) to Tenerife (Spain) through Wizzair and LOT airlines in this sequence;

As I didn’t find any available direct flights to Tenerife by the time of booking the tickets in April 2022.

1- First, I have booked a flight for 4 passengers from Bergen (Norway) to Gdansk (Poland) with WizzAir scheduled on 25/06/2022, flight no: W6 1746 with confirmation number MGLB9D ( Which is canceled by Wizzair after the planned departure time)

2- I have booked one night in a hotel in Gdansk on 25/06/2022.

3- Bought 4 tickets for the whole family with LOT Airlines from Gdansk to Warsaw in order to take another aircraft to Tenerife.

4- Booked another 4 tickets from Warsaw to Tenerife through WizzAir at the end. with confirmation number MEBU7J.

On the planned day, i.e. 25/06/2022 We went to Bergen Airport. The departure time was at 14.05. We received a SMS from WizzAir at 11.57 that the flight is delayed and the estimated departure will be: 14.40, then another sms at 14.27 that the flight was delayed again and the new departure will be at 16.00, then another SMS about a new delay to 16.30.

At 14.47 they sent SMS that the flight was canceled without mentioning the reason for cancellation.

No one from WizzAir was at the airport to inform us what to do and no one called us. We went home with our kids again and tried to contact Wizzair. After 45 minutes of waiting over the phone with a paid phone call, they said that there are no other available flights , and we must send them a claim form to get a refund.

I tried on my own to find another solution, and I found a flight at 22.40 to travel to another city in Poland ( Katowice ) where I could rent a car and drive 4 hours to Warsaw in order to catch the flight from Warsaw to Tenerife on the second day.

I called them again to rebook this flight, and they assured me that everything is OK. I got the same confirmation number MGLB9D

I rented a car and paid online from Katowice Airport to drive with my family over the night to Warsaw as we did not find a hotel to accommodate it.

dave bautista
Read alsoHollywood star enraged in Budapest: American Airlines lost his luggage

We went to Bergen Airport again with our kids. The new boarding (flight no. W6 1220) was at 22.40 on Saturday 25/06/2022, but they told us that the flight was delayed and then was also canceled without giving any reason. No one from Wizzair was in the airport for the first time. Just those from Bergen airport gave us a paper stating our rights and they said that Wizzair will contact us, but no one has contacted us.

I called WizzAir again, ( and I also had to wait over the phone with a paid telephone number). They couldn’t find any other alternative flights, and asked me to send them a claim to get a refund and any other expense that I lost due to the two cancellations.

I received an SMS at 06.00 am that the flight was canceled. (7 hours after the scheduled departure time).

As a result of that Kaos, we could not travel to Poland and we missed the hotel accommodation, the flight from Gdansk to Warsaw, the car rental fee in Katowice and on top of that we missed the flight from Warsaw to Tenerife with the confirmation number MGLB9D.

I searched again and again and I found another route with another airline and of course, the price was doubled. The original price was around 9000 Norwegian krone. The only available tickets that I found cost over 20000 NOK.

WizzAir left us stranded without any info or help.

I submitted a complaint to Wizz Air which answered and said that the two cancellations were because of extraordinary circumstances, thus no refund or compensation!

All of these cancellations from Wizzair have affected my journey and caused a big loss of money for me :

1- Lost this flight (from Bergen to Gadansk) 2596 NOK (HUF 109,382)

2- Lost the hotel reservation in Gdansk. 800 NOK (HUF 33,708)

3- Missed the flight from (Gdansk to Warsaw) with LOT airline 2143 NOK (HUF 90,295)

4 – Lost the car rental expenses in Katowice. (the second attempt to travel to Poland on the same day) 1147 NOK (HUF 48,328)

5- Lost the flight from Warsaw to Tenerife for 4 passengers. 604.6 GBP (HUF 293,639)

6- I had to rebook new flights from Bergen to Tenerife which cost 20000 NOK (HUF 84,2701)

7- Phone calls to Wizzair 296 NOK (HUF 12,471)

We haven’t been contacted by Wizzair regarding the cancellations or any other alternatives at all, I had to call myself and find other solutions.

Wizzair denied my request for a refund and denied to pay compensation for all those expenses that I have been charged and the problems I have encountered ( to go to the airport and return back home -back and forth 3 times- with luggage and children within just a few hours because of the irresponsible cancellations) and no one bothered to call us or to help us.

Regards from Norway

Ryanair Hungary
Read alsoRyanair passed departure tax on Hungarian family, authorities cannot help

Wizz Air flight from Eindhoven to Budapest collided with birds and had to turn back

Wizz Air Hugarian Company UK Purchase

On Sunday, a Wizz Air flight from Eindhoven to Budapest collided with a flock of birds during take-off, causing the plane to turn back, the airline said in response to Telex‘s questions.

An article about the incident appeared in a NOS Dutch newspaper on Sunday evening. Wizz Air’s reply revealed that the birds had damaged the tires, which is why the plane was grounded. Engineers immediately started repair work but were unable to complete it the same day, so Wizz Air rescheduled the flight for Monday at 17:30, which the company said it had informed passengers about by text message and email.

“In the meantime, ground handling staff have booked accommodation and arranged transport for passengers. (…) Passengers affected by the rescheduling of the flight can claim reimbursement of their self-booked accommodation and other costs by presenting a copy of their invoices via the Wizz Air interface or by contacting customer services.”

– the airline wrote.

As we wrote on Saturday, Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air’s Dortmund plane collided with a flock of birds. Passengers had to wait half a day for a replacement plane in the 40-degree passenger lounge, details HERE.

wizzair emergency landing
Read alsoHungarian Government Office takes action against Wizz Air

Hungarian Government Office takes action against Wizz Air

wizzair emergency landing

The municipal government office of Budapest has launched proceedings against low-cost airline Wizz Air over a number of recent customer complaints, the justice ministry said in a statement on Monday.

According to the ministry, the number of consumer complaints filed with the consumer protection authority against Wizz Air Hungary Zrt. has increased recently, with several cases receiving a lot of media coverage.

According to the complaints, the airline did not provide information and assistance in case of flight delays and cancellations; did not provide accommodation and rebooking, causing additional costs to passengers; did not respond to consumer complaints within 30 days; and operates a premium-rate call center, in violation of the law and the rights of Hungarian consumers, the statement said.

For this reason, a consumer protection authority investigation was launched at the initiative of the professional management IM at the Government Office of Budapest to protect the rights of Hungarian consumers and Hungarian families.

The aim of the investigation is to identify, stop and sanction any possible illegal behaviour, as all businesses must comply with the law, they said.

As we wrote on Saturday, Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air’s Dortmund plane collided with a flock of birds. Passengers had to wait half a day for a replacement plane in the 40-degree passenger lounge, details HERE.

Budapest Airport Wizz Air travel bus
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