Wizz Air’s CEO has seen a substantial pay increase during the latest financial year, despite the airline’s operating profits dropping by 61.7% on the previous year.
Jozsef Varadi received a €3.8 million ($4.41 million) pay packet for the financial year ending March 31, 2025, the airline’s annual report disclosed. The payment included £2.3 million granted in October, which boosted his pay from €1.3 million.
Around 35% of shareholders had initially voted against the move at the company's annual general meeting (AGM). The salary had, at the time, represented a 300% bonus of his then-salary of €775,000 ($899,000).
The airline plans for a further share-based reward which would amount to 500% of Varadi’s salary in 2026.
He had been in line to earn a €127 million bonus ($147.3) for that year, but a variety of operational challenges hit the company. The bonus was dependent on whether he created shareholder value of around $12.7bn — equating to around 1% commission for the CEO.
“I think it is a very fair deal,” Varadi said, speaking to Airline Economics in June last year for Issue 79. “Nowadays, if you went to a bank, I don't think anybody would give you any money for less than 2%. If you raise funds, if you take a loan; you pay a lot more than that given the interest rate environment.”
Wizz recorded an operating profit of €167.5 million ($194.3 million) during the 2025 financial year, down from €437.9 million ($508 million) that was recorded during the prior 12-month period, with this primarily due to problems with Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan (GTF) engines, which resulted in nearly 20% of the airline’s fleet being grounded.