Wizz bets on Spartan flights to Jeddah with new Airbus jet

Wizz Air Holdings Plc will deploy a new, long-range narrowbody jet from Airbus SE to start flying from London to Saudi Arabia, pitting its no-frills services against plusher cabins on the seven-hour route. 

The budget carrier plans to use the coming Airbus A321 XLR to unlock more routes from Europe to the Middle East and Asia, Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said Tuesday at a press conference in London. 

Airbus’s latest single-aisle variant is expected to join Wizz’s fleet in March, the company said in a statement. The overnight flights from London Gatwick to the pilgrimage destination of Jeddah will cost £134.99 ($177) one-way and are set to start on March 31. The planes will lack common amenities on longer flights, such as reclining seats and entertainment screens. 

“There is a lot of appeal for this from the tourism perspective but also from a religious perspective,” Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said on Tuesday during a press conference in London.

The single-aisle plane opens doors in Wizz’s network after a bumpy year for the Hungary-based airline, which recently cut its annual profit outlook over engine issues that grounded some of its fleet. The company also plans to fly the XLR from Milan Malpensa Airport to Abu Dhabi for as low as €100 ($110) one-way starting in June.

The UK is likely to be the main hub for Wizz’s XLR fleet and will allow low-cost carriers to compete with traditional hub airlines on longer routes, Varadi said. Wizz, which has ordered 47 XLRs, is seeking more capacity at Gatwick and other airports to accommodate its growth plans, he said. 

The XLR will allow Wizz to operate flights lasting up to eight hours, compared with the current maximum of six, while seating 239 people, the same number as the airline’s A321neo aircraft. United Airlines Holdings, American Airlines, Icelandair and IndiGo are among the carriers which have also ordered the XLR, which burns 30% less fuel than older-generation A321s.

Beyond the Middle East, Wizz has set its sights on Asia. Varadi called India an “exciting proposition,” but he couldn’t predict when plans to fly there would be finalized. He ruled out transatlantic services.

“We don’t have the objective of flying this aircraft over the Atlantic,” Varadi said. “Please don’t expect us to fly to New York or Boston, we are just not set for that.”

Wizz expects to have 15% more aircraft next summer than today but Varadi said this was dependent on Airbus delivering planes on time. The carrier was on track to build the fleet to 500 jets by 2030 but the goal could slip to 2031 or 2032 because of supply chain issues, he added.