Central European budget carrier Wizz Air’s revised Airbus delivery schedule means it will have an all-A321neo fleet from fiscal 2033.
The airline states in a half-year briefing that, at this point, it will have a total of 379 aircraft, comprising 368 standard A321neos plus 11 long-range A321XLRs.
Its fleet plan indicates it will withdraw its 41 older A321s and most of its A320s by fiscal 2029, but retain its six A320neos plus two older A320s for a further four years.
The airline’s fleet currently stands at 243 after it received 16 A321neos and three XLRs over the first half, and returned seven A320s.
Wizz Air has had an ambitious strategy – known as ‘Wizz 500’ – to double its fleet to 500 aircraft by 2030.
This would have involved average annual capacity growth of around 15% from 2025.
But its closure of its Abu Dhabi joint venture, in favour of reinforcing its European operations, has led the airline to rethink its fleet requirements.
The carrier recently disclosed that it would axe much of its XLR order, converting 36 of the 47 aircraft to standard A321neos, and shift the delivery of 88 jets out of the current decade – pushing the schedule out to fiscal 2033.
This change means the airline’s annual seat growth in the medium term will be around 10-12%
Chief executive Jozsef Varadi says this figure is “more sustainable”, adding: ”We will see the most significant changes to our delivery profile in around 12 months’ time.”
As a consequence, he says, the airline is “actively managing” capacity over the current winter season to deliver around “mid-teens” seat capacity growth over the second half of 2025-26.
With increased focus on Europe, rather than the Middle East, the carrier is establishing new bases at locations including Warsaw Modlin, Tuzla, Yerevan and Bratislava. These will each start with two aircraft, and Wizz expects them to contribute “meaningfully” to cost savings from fiscal 2027.
It is also reinforcing its core markets through allocation of more aircraft to Skopje, Sofia, Katowice, Wroclaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Tirana and Chisinau.
Wizz Air turned in a 25% increase in operating profit, to €439 million ($510 million) for the six months to 30 September 2025, and a slight rise in net profit to €323 million.
The airline had 35 aircraft grounded for Pratt & Whitney GTF engine inspections at the half-year point, down from 41 at the end of the first quarter.
Varadi says that the carrier expects this figure to reduce further – to around 25-30 aircraft – for the next fiscal year.
