Across all of its divisions, low-cost carrier Wizz Air boasts a sizeable passenger fleet consisting entirely of Airbus narrowbodies. In recent years, it has taken steps to modernize its aircraft by adding jets from the new Airbus A320neo series. As we head towards the mid 2020s, the airline hopes that the average age of its aircraft will drop to just three years old.
A quick look at Wizz Air’s fleet
Looking at data from ATDB.aero, we can see that the Hungarian low-cost carrier has 133 passenger-carrying aircraft in its mainline fleet. Several more operate for its UK and Abu Dhabi-based subsidiaries. All of these aircraft are single-aisle twinjets produced by European manufacturer Airbus. They come specifically from its A320ceo and A320neo families.
In terms of the older A320ceo (‘Current Engine Option’) series jets, the database lists 58 A320s and 34 A321s as being present. These aren’t the oldest aircraft, clocking in at an average of 9.1 and 4.5 years old respectively. However, at an average of 1.4 and 1.0 years old, its six A320neos (‘New Engine Option’) and 35 A321neos are noticeably younger.
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Only getting younger
Predicting how the next decade is going to pan out in the world of commercial aviation is a difficult task at any time. However, in the present pandemic era, the surrounding uncertainty has rendered this nigh on impossible. Nonetheless, it is clear to Wizz (and indeed many other airlines) that sustainability will be a key point of consideration in the coming years.
With this in mind, Wizz has huge plans when it comes to the efficient A320neo series. Having already received dozens of the jets, it has orders for a further 34 A320neos, 248 A321neos, and 47 A321XLRs. These will decrease both its carbon footprint and its average fleet age. Its President, Robert Carey, explained last month at the World Aviation Festival that:
“The average age of the fleet we are operating today is five years. But, for the middle of the decade, so 2025, the figure’s going to be at three years. And that will offer us 20-25% lower fuel consumption than the classics that our competitors use.”
How does the average age compare?
Carey alluded to Wizz Air’s competitors using older, classic series aircraft. But how exactly does this impact their average fleet ages compare to Wizz’s? In terms of its primary European rivals, easyJet and Ryanair, it is worth noting that both do also fly next-generation aircraft from the modern Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX families respectively.
Nonetheless, their fleets do still work out older than that of Wizz Air on average. The figure given for Ryanair by ATDB.aero is 12 years, with easyJet slightly lower at 8.4. Of course, these carriers will also likely see this metric decrease as they receive aircraft from their order books. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see whether Wizz will reach its 2025 target.
What do you make of Wizz Air’s fleet plans? Have you flown with the airline during the pandemic? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
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