Wizz Air Abu Dhabi joint venture takes off bigger than expected

Wizz Air is sure to be familiar to many European travellers. The airline with its headquarters in Hungary is among the three largest low-cost airlines in Europe. Business in Eastern Europe plays a particularly important role, but Wizz Air is also increasingly conquering Western European airspace. Now, finally, there is news about the airline’s latest expansion plans. Wizz Air is launching a joint venture with the state-owned holding company in Abu Dhabi, ADQ: Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

The plans surrounding the joint venture have been known for some time. Originally, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi planned to start flight operations with three aircraft at the beginning. This number has now doubled. Last week, Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi confirmed that the new joint venture will fly with six Airbus A321s from the start. Looking at the current state of the aviation industry, this decision seems somewhat surprising at first glance.

COVID-19 is a significant issue, making a significant impact on the industry, but at the same time, it is also creating quite some opportunities for us.

Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi

In contrast to many other airlines, Wizz Air is not as badly hit by the corona crisis as the German Lufthansa, for example. Furthermore, the company has had one of the strongest balance sheets in Europe for years. Thus, the joint venture Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is a further step to strengthen and expand its position in international air traffic. The first flights are scheduled to take off from Abu Dhabi in October. Tickets for these flights will be available from this month.

Picture © Markus Winkler

by Johanna Koyser