Wizz Air reported an operating loss of €63.8 million in the first half (H1) for the six-month period that ended on September 30, 2022. However, the airline reported overall revenue of €2.194 billion from €880.4 million in the same period last year, showing almost double growth. Also, the airline’s heavyweight load factor for H1 jumped from 75.3% to 86.9%.
József Váradi, Wizz Air Chief Executive said: “Revenue per available seat kilometer improved from -10% during the first quarter to +11% during the second quarter, ahead of guidance, all measured versus the pre-COVID-19 quarters. This was driven by load factors recovering and improved yields, no longer held back by COVID-19 or the war in Ukraine. Wizz Air’s focus continues to be the combined approach of delivering growth while pricing for cost inflation.”
The airline closed H1 with €1,630 million in total cash an increase of almost 18.2% from €1,378.8 million, at the same time last year. The airline reported 2022, as the year for sustained recovery. Demonstrating an aggressive growth strategy in the last few years, despite the industry's various challenges, the airline increased its fleet from 144 to 168 in the last year.
“Beyond normalizing the operations, during the quarter we reached important milestones. We have exercised existing purchase rights for 75 A321neo aircraft, locking in highly competitive aircraft prices, negotiated before the current inflationary environment. Wizz Air benefits from having fixed interest rate structures financing 94% of its existing fleet. We have agreed on the financing terms of 31 aircraft since the summer. Our aircraft finance tender processes continue to be oversubscribed, with a 15% increase in financing participants compared to last year. We are successfully adding EUR-denominated lease contracts with 61 % of new contracts now EUR-financed. As a consequence, Wizz Air’s fleet program continues to provide it with significant and structurally embedded competitive advantage both in terms of operating and fuel efficiency, as well as financing costs,” added Varadi
The airline reported carrying around 26.5 million passengers, compared to 12.5 million last year. Wizz Air set a new record by operating 859 flights in a single day on September 5, 2022, and reported record traffic in the period June to August, carrying 12.9 million passengers.
Going ahead, Wizz Air is looking to build upon this to perform at a significantly higher level than it was before the pandemic
"As we move closer to the winter 22/23 season, we are gearing up to operate c.35% higher capacity in the second half versus 2019 (normalized for COVID-19 impact in Feb-March 2020),” Varadi further added.