What Pandemic? Wizz Air’s Optimistic Summer Sees 143 New Routes

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Wizz Air will launch 143 additional routes this summer, resulting from numerous new bases and airports added to its route map. The carrier is determined to emerge from the crisis as a much more formidable competing force.

Wizz Air A320
Wizz Air will launch 143 routes this summer, with more likely to come. Photo: Getty Images.

Wizz Air has taken a very different approach during coronavirus than many airlines in Europe. It has expanded rapidly, showing real optimism, with large numbers of new routes added due to multiple new bases joining its network. Since the pandemic struck, new bases include the following, with some starting this summer:

  1. Abu Dhabi
  2. Bacau
  3. Bari
  4. Burgas
  5. Cardiff
  6. Catania
  7. Doncaster
  8. Dortmund
  9. Larnaca
  10. Lviv
  11. London Gatwick
  12. Milan Malpensa
  13. Oslo Gardermoen
  14. Palermo
  15. Sarajevo
  16. St Petersburg
  17. Tirana

Additionally, large numbers of new airports have been added, with Wizz Air’s network rising from 146 airports in summer 2019 to 180 in summer 2021. Some are new bases, mentioned above, along with the likes of Alexandria, Almaty, Ancona, Brindisi, Cagliari, Chania, Dalaman, Genoa, Lanzarote, Luxor, Olbia, Mykonos, Pescara, Preveza, Sohag, Sharm El Sheikh, and Skellefteå. Two of these, Luxor and Sohag, have today (April 12th) been announced from Abu Dhabi.

Wizz Air A320
Given foreign holidays from the UK are banned until at least May 17th, the 24 additional routes from the country will begin on that day or later. Photo: Getty Images.

143 routes added

Wizz Air will launch some 143 routes this summer, as shown in the table below, based on analyzing OAG data and the ultra-low-cost-carrier’s (ULCC) website. This doesn’t include routes operated in summer 2020 (S20) or winter 2020 (W20). Wizz Air UK is due to begin 20 routes, with this unit recently receiving its first A321neo.

Start date From To Weekly departures (in first week) Operator
Already started Dortmund Palma 2 Wizz Air Hungary
Already started Kyiv Zhulyany Milan Malpensa 2 Wizz Air Hungary
Already started Pisa Tirana 1 Wizz Air Hungary
Already started Belgrade Hamburg 1 Wizz Air Hungary
April 18th Abu Dhabi Tel Aviv 3 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
April 20th Larnaca Tel Aviv 2 Wizz Air Hungary
April 24th Bacau Turin 1 Wizz Air Hungary
April 25th Basel Tirana 2 Wizz Air Hungary
April 28th Rome Fiumicino Kyiv Zhulyany 2 Wizz Air Hungary
April 29th Milan Malpensa Olbia 2 Wizz Air Hungary
April 30th Berlin Cluj-Napoca 1 Wizz Air Hungary
April 30th Berlin Odesa 1 Wizz Air Hungary
April 30th Eindhoven Chișinău 1 Wizz Air Hungary
May 1st Abu Dhabi Larnaca 1 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
May 1st Katowice Zaporizhzhia 1 Wizz Air Hungary
May 1st Kharkiv Larnaca 1 Wizz Air Hungary
May 2nd Abu Dhabi Odesa 2 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
May 13th Abu Dhabi Nur-Sultan 2 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
May 13th Bologna Olbia 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 14th Abu Dhabi Almaty 2 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
May 14th Rome Ciampino Tirana 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 14th Malmo Tirana 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 15th Stockholm Skavsta Tirana 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 16th Belgrade Oslo Torp 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 17th Birmingham Larnaca 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 17th Cardiff Heraklion 3 Wizz Air UK
May 17th Cardiff Tenerife South 3 Wizz Air UK
May 17th Dalaman London Luton 2 Wizz Air UK
May 17th Doncaster Faro 2 Wizz Air UK
May 17th Doncaster Kosice 2 Wizz Air UK
May 17th Doncaster Palma 2 Wizz Air UK
May 18th Alicante London Luton 3 Wizz Air UK
May 18th Alicante Doncaster 2 Wizz Air UK
May 18th Cardiff Larnaca 2 Wizz Air UK
May 18th London Gatwick Malaga 4 Wizz Air UK
May 19th Dalaman Doncaster 2 Wizz Air UK
May 20th Alicante Cardiff 2 Wizz Air UK
May 20th Cardiff Faro 2 Wizz Air UK
May 20th Cardiff Palma 2 Wizz Air UK
May 20th Dortmund Sarajevo 3 Wizz Air Hungary
May 20th Memmingen Sarajevo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 21st Basel Sarajevo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 21st Brussels Charleroi Sarajevo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 21st London Luton Sarajevo 2 Wizz Air UK
May 22nd Copenhagen Sarajevo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 22nd Paris Beauvais Sarajevo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 23rd Eindhoven Sarajevo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 23rd Gothenburg Sarajevo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 26th Borgas Doncaster 2 Wizz Air UK
May 28th Doncaster Heraklion 2 Wizz Air UK
May 28th Tirana Pescara 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 29th Abu Dhabi Sohag 2 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
May 29th Corfu Cardiff 2 Wizz Air UK
May 31st Alicante Oslo 3 Wizz Air Hungary
May 31st Cluj-Napoca Karlsruhe 3 Wizz Air Hungary
May 31st Kharkiv Milan Malpensa 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 31st Kyiv Zhulyany Salzburg 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 31st Lviv Verona 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 31st Milan Malpensa Zaporizhzhia 2 Wizz Air Hungary
May 31st Salzburg Varna 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Abu Dhabi Yerevan 2 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
June 1st Basel Palermo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Bologna Odesa 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Bologna Palermo 7 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Brindisi Pisa 3 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Cagliari Milan Malpensa 7 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Catania Lviv 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Chania Oslo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Genoa Tirana 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Gran Canaria Oslo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Kharkiv Venice Treviso 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Kyiv Zhulyany Venice Treviso 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Larnaca Oslo 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Palermo Pisa 7 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Palermo Turin 4 Wizz Air Hungary
June 1st Palermo Verona 3 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Bergen Bucharest 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Bologna Kyiv Zhulyany 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Brindisi Bologna 4 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Catania Kyiv Zhulyany 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Catania Pisa 5 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Cluj-Napoca Hamburg 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Dortmund Marrakesh 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd London Luton Palermo 3 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Milan Malpensa Odesa 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Olbia Venice Treviso 5 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Olbia Verona 7 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Palermo Venice Treviso 5 Wizz Air Hungary
June 2nd Rome Fiumicino Odesa 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 3rd Basel Chișinău 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 3rd Cagliari Bucharest 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 3rd Cologne Cluj-Napoca 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 4th Abu Dhabi Luxor 2 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
June 4th Ancona Tirana 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 4th Catania St Petersburg 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 4th Odesa Venice Treviso 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 6th Oslo Split 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 10th Borgas Dortmund 3 Wizz Air Hungary
June 10th Borgas Tel Aviv 3 Wizz Air Hungary
June 10th Rhodes Tel Aviv 1 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Borgas Kyiv Zhulyany 3 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Borgas Liverpool 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Borgas Poznan 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Cluj-Napoca Mykonos 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Gdansk Santorini 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Krakow Split 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Mykonos Tel Aviv 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Preveza Warsaw 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 11th Santorini Sofia 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 12th Borgas Wroclaw 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 12th Cluj-Napoca Zakynthos 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 12th Santorini Vilnius 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Borgas Eindhoven 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Borgas Turku 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Budapest Chania 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Chania Sofia 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Chania Vienna 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Chania Warsaw 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Corfu Sofia 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Gdansk Heraklion 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Gdansk Split 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Iasi Santorini 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Rhodes Warsaw 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Thessaloniki Warsaw 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 13th Zakynthos Warsaw 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 15th Bucharest Zakynthos 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 15th Corfu Bucharest 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 15th Heraklion Krakow 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 15th Heraklion Tel Aviv 3 Wizz Air Hungary
June 15th Santorini Tel Aviv 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 15th Santorini Warsaw 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 15th Heraklion Warsaw 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 16th Corfu Katowice 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 16th Heraklion Chișinău 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 16th Santorini Krakow 2 Wizz Air Hungary
June 17th Debrecen Santorini 1 Wizz Air Hungary
June 20th Split Wroclaw 1 Wizz Air Hungary
July 1st Milan Bergamo St Petersburg 3 Wizz Air Hungary
July 2nd St Petersburg Venice Treviso 2 Wizz Air Hungary
July 4th St Petersburg Salzburg 2 Wizz Air Hungary
September 30th Abu Dhabi Kutaisi 2 Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
October 1st Cardiff Lanzarote 3 Wizz Air UK
October 1st Doncaster Fuerteventura 2 Wizz Air UK

Italy and Greece see most added

Italy and Greece have seen 40 and 33 routes added respectively. Because of this and routes added in S20/W20, Wizz Air will have a total of 207 routes to, from, and within Italy in S21, up from just 88 in S19. For Greece, it is 83, up from just 21.

Wizz Air’s average weekly frequency on these 143 routes is two based on the first week each begins. However, a good number later increase, especially Bologna to Olbia and Rome Ciampino to Tirana. Moreover, some four routes – each within Italy – start with a seven-weekly offering, demonstrating how Wizz Air is taking the fight to the country. In S21, LCCs have nearly six in ten Italy seats (57%), OAG data reveals, with Wizz Air closing in on easyJet.

Wizz Air aircraft
Palermo has seen the most seats added from additional routes, partly from higher-frequency domestic services. Photo: Getty Images.

Why this growth?

You’d be forgiven for thinking that this fast growth is just from Wizz Air cutting aircraft from existing bases and redistributing them. But it’s not. Since the pandemic struck, Wizz Air has added over 30 new aircraft, paving the way for the ULCC’s changes. Speaking at Routes Reconnected last year, József Váradi, Wizz Air’s CEO, said that:

“From a business standpoint, coronavirus is an opportunity to position Wizz Air versus the industry to come out as a much stronger player, a much more formidable competing force.”

This is illustrated in Wizz Air’s much bigger focus recently on flights within Western Europe, which will be key to future growth and size.

Do you think Wizz Air is taking the right approach? Comment below!

 

 



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