Wizz Air considerably changed its summer schedule, ticket prices expected to grow
The Hungarian low-cost airline started to modify its summer schedule, and it will reduce flight frequency from Budapest. Meanwhile, Concorde, a Hungarian independent equity analysis company, projected a 10 percent ticket price increase.
Schedule modifications in Budapest
According to okosutas.hu, Wizz Air does not announce every modification in its schedule. Based on the travel news outlet, there is a change regarding London-Gatwick. So far, that flight took off late night. But in the new schedule, it will do so at noon. Thus, you will not be able to do a sightseeing tour in the British capital on your final day there. If you want to do so, you must go to Luton Airport from where Wizz Air will continue to depart to Budapest in the evening.
Wizz Air will fly to Paris only five times a week instead of flying every day. Furthermore, instead of the morning, it will take off in the afternoon.
The schedule to Malta, Catania (Sicily, Italy) and Malaga (Spain) also changed . Furthermore, you will travel to Heraklion (Greece) at 7 in the evening instead of 6 in the morning. As a result, you will probably lose a day on that trip.
Okosutas.hu argues that the current changes do not mean Wizz Air would not modify the schedule again. For example, in 2022, they had a flight to Crete which they changed five times. As a result, you should book refundable accommodations if you travel with Wizz Air to destinations where the airline does not fly at least once every day.
Wizz Air performing well in Romania
According to iho.hu, Wizz Air carried 8.5 million passengers in Romania in 2022. That is more than the pre-pandemic number. Flights departing from or landing in Bucharest carried four million passengers. That number was two million in the case of Cluj Napoca (Kolozsvár) and 1 million in Iasi. As a result, Bucharest became the greatest base of Wizz Air with 16 planes. The low-cost carrier employs 900 pilots and 350 flight attendants in Romania and has eight bases in Hungary’s Eastern neighbour.
At least a 10 percent ticket price increase expected
Despite the great numbers in the CEE region, Concorde modified Wizz Air shares from hold to sell, Világgazdaság wrote. That is because of the worse Q3 financial results in 2022, the inflation the CEE region suffers from and the aggressive expansion of the Irish competitor, Ryanair. As a result, Concorde lowered Wizz Air’s aim share price from GBP 21 to 20.5.
Ryanair did not fall into that category because its main market is still West Europe, with a more moderate inflation. However, Wizz Air is performing outstandingly in the Central and Eastern European region though they are expanding in the Middle East.
Concorde’s model calculates at least a 10 percent ticket price rise. But they added it was an optimistic scenario. The independent Hungarian equity analyst company said Ryanair would impair Wizz Air’s competitiveness because they were profitable and their liquidity is exceptional in the sector.
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Source: okosutas.hu, iho.hu, Világgazdaság
