CEO bullish about prospects for low-cost carrier during ATM Virtual interview
Wizz Air CEO, Joszef Varadi, has confirmed the Hungarian low-cost carrier’s impending move to operate out of Abu Dhabi.
“If you look at what we’ve been able to achieve in the EU, we managed to grow our fleet to 100 aircraft over the last 15 years and we should be able to do the same thing in Abu Dhabi,” he said during the recent three-day ATM Virtual.
“You should be looking at our platform, not necessarily just Abu Dhabi, we want to serve the UAE and possibly the broader GCC markets,” he added.
Now celebrating its 16th anniversary, Budapest-headquartered Wizz Air employs more than 4,500 people and flew 40 million passengers, to 151 airports in 44 countries, on 710 routes last year.
It has a young fleet of 120 Airbus aircraft with an option to buy a further 20 Airbus A321XLR aircraft, the most cost-efficient aircraft of its type.
Varadi went to talk about the current situation and the desire to travel, versus the ability to travel. He claimed that his customers were motivated to travel especially younger customers, who generally are more adventurous and less affected by the pandemic.
Coming out of the crisis, Varadi believes that the ensuing recession will also create greater challenges for the industry than the outbreak itself. Short-haul, low-cost carriers such as Wizz Air will be better placed to recover initially, because the lowest costs prevail. He also observed that some passengers will also look to downgrade from legacy carriers to save money.
