Low-cost airline carrier cuts back on flights

Planning a European trip with low-cost airline Wizz Air? 

It might pay to make sure your travel insurance is up to date and to have a back-up plan. 

Wizz Air continues to rationalise its network and close bases as it faces financial difficulties, travel news hub Travel Mole reported this week.

Wizz this week announced the gradual closure of its base in Vienna, following a strategic review of its operations and fleet allocation.

The process will take place in two phases: two routes and two planes, serving Bilbao and London Gatwick, will be withdrawn on October 26. Three remaining aircraft and the rest of the routes from the Austrian capital will cease operation on March 15, 2026.

Wizz Air launched its Vienna hub in 2018 and it has been one of the most important bases for the carrier in Central Europe. Vienna’s current fleet comprises five Airbus A321neo aircraft.

Operating 28 routes to 20 countries, the fleet reflects the strong position Wizz Air has achieved in Austria.

Since the inception of Wizz Air’s Vienna base, however, airport costs and taxes have increased significantly.

Operating from Vienna has become incompatible with the airline’s ultra-low-cost business model, Wizz Air management said in a statement.

"The airport cost base in Vienna, as well as taxes and ground handling services, has risen significantly since our launch, making continued operations unsustainable," managing director Mauro Peneda said.

Founded in 2002 and based in Hungary, the airline group has its largest hubs at airports in Budapest, Bucharest and London Luton Airport. It currently flies to 194 airports and has a fleet of over 220 aircraft.

In July this year, the company announced the suspension of its operations from Abu Dhabi, saying it was caused by geopolitical turmoil, supply chain constraints, and regulatory barriers.

All flights to the region ceased on September 1.

Airline slammed for "unacceptable" service failures

Britain's Civil Aviation Authority has clamped down on budget airline Wizz Air after a swag of customer complaints.

The organisation - which clearly has more teeth than Australia's pathetic excuse for a regulator - had expressed concerns for several months over consumer rights being ignored when Wizz flights were delayed or cancelled.

Several County Court Judgements have been issued against Wizz Air over the last nine months and The Guardian reported Wizz Air could be forced to pay out millions of pounds to angry passengers.

The CAA has instructed Wizz Air to make changes to its policies and procedures to comply with its legal obligations.

Wizz Air, for those not familiar with this bad boy, is a Hungarian multinational with its head office in Budapest.

The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as some destinations in North Africa, the Middle East and the Indian sub continent.

The CAA says Wizz Air will now be forced to make changes to its policies and passenger communications.

The airline has agreed to look again at claims it received from disgruntled passengers for replacement flight and other costs incurred after flight disruptions.

The action covers claims for flights to and from UK Airports since March 18 last year, Travel Mole reports.

Wizz Air has agreed to sign undertakings with the regulator to make good on these outstanding claims.

The CAA will also monitor the airline for compliance over the coming months.

Wizz Air will also be required to provide information to the CAA about its review of closed expenses claims.

Paul Smith, joint-interim CEO at the CAA, said: “This enforcement action sends a clear message that airlines must meet their obligations to passengers.

“Passengers have every right to expect their complaints and claims to be resolved quickly and efficiently and to be treated fairly.

“We made it clear to Wizz Air last year that the way it was treating passengers was unacceptable.”

Angry passenger takes on shoddy airline behaviour - and wins

An angry airline passenger has gone to court and had bailiffs sent to an airport after being let down by a budget carrier.

Russell Quirk sent bailiffs to Luton Airport to confront Wizz Air over money owed to him after his family's flights to Portugal were cancelled at the last minute, the BBC reported.

Quirk said he was left to to find another route to Portugal which cost him £4,500 ($8,170) and after months of waiting for Wizz Air to reimburse him he went to court and ended up sending in the bailiffs.

Wizz Air paid up, apologised and said its performance "fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations".

The company is one of a number of budget airlines facing county court claims against them, consumer magazine Which? has reported.

The way customers have been treated by Wizz Air has been "shocking, shambolic and shoddy", Quirk told the BBC.

He had booked flights from Luton Airport to Faro, in Portugal,  in January last year for a family holiday with his wife and three daughters.

He awoke early on the morning of their flight to find a message from Wizz Air saying it was cancelled.

"There was no explanation, no alternative offered and no apology," he said.

"I had to wake my three daughters and tell them we weren't going on holiday - they were very upset."

With hotels, transfers and an airport lounge already paid for, he said the only viable option was to find another carrier, with which the family flew the following day.

Those flights, together with money lost on a night in hotel rooms and other expenses, cost him £4,500, he said.

On his return he tried to get recompense from Wizz Air, but he said it took almost two months for the cost of his original flights to be returned along with other legal compensation.

But, he said, Wizz Air repeatedly ignored his claim for "consequential losses" - the £4,500 extra he had spent.

He took his case to the county court but said Wizz Air "ignored" the judgement made against the company, so bailiffs were sent in to the Wizz Air desk at Luton Airport.

"Their option was to hand over the money or the bailiffs would take it in goods - it might have been chairs, tables, computers or an aircraft," Quirk said.

He said taking his case to court cost him about £180 in court fees, plus £60 to send in the bailiffs - although additional costs associated with the bailiff visit would have had to be paid by Wizz Air.

"Increasingly businesses are thinking they can treat customers like dirt and I'm determined to eradicate that," Quirk told the BBC.

"My message is, where big companies stonewall you, if you persevere you can get what is owed to you."

A spokesperson for Wizz Air said: "In the summer of 2022, due to unprecedented levels of disruption across Europe and the UK which affected the entire industry, we fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations.

"When things went wrong, we did not react quickly enough to manage the high volume of customer claims that resulted from this disruption. We are sorry about this and we are working to ensure that our customers' experience with Wizz is better this year."

How to affordably add Lyon to your European travel agenda

There is good news for anyone in London who fancies a few days of indulgence in France.

Budget airline Wizz Air has announced a new seasonal route from Gatwick Airport to Lyon, a gourmet destination surrounded by vineyards including Beaujolais, Coteaux du Lyonnais and Coteaux du Rhône.

Starting from January 10, Wizz Air will offer seasonal flights four times a week to France’s third-largest city, Travel Mole reports.

During the winter, travellers can enjoy the city’s festival of lights, traditional markets, and nearby ski resorts.

The announcement follows the recent launch of three new routes from Gatwick to Marrakesh and Agadir in Morocco and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.

Wizz Air now offers over 25 routes from the airport.

Marion Geoffroy, managing director of Wizz Air UK, said: “We are excited to announce the addition of yet another exciting route from Gatwick.

"With the launch of 42 new routes in the UK over the past year alone, we continue to bring better connectivity and affordable fares.”

A Wizz bang future for budget airline?

Many Australians may not have heard of low-cost airline Wizz Air, but it could soon be a familiar flight option. 

Hungarian-based Wizz is considering launching non-stop flights from the UK to the Middle East and, potentially, to Asia, Travel Mole reports.

Marion Geoffroy, managing director of Wizz Air UK said future destinations could include the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Saudi Arabia, using longer-range A321XLR planes. 

Asian destinations could be reached with a stop in the UAE via its joint venture Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, which currently flies to the Maldives.

“The macroeconomic environment forces everyone to be very rational about capacity,” Geoffroy said, adding the airline will not enter the ultra-competitive transatlantic market.

Wizz serves many cities across Europe and has the largest fleet of any Hungarian airline.

Airline to the aid of Ukraine refugees

European low-cost carrier Wizz Air is coming to the rescue of refugees from Russia's attack on Ukraine. 

The Hungarian-based airline says it is offering Ukrainian refugees up 100,000 free seats on flights in continental Europe departing from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia or Romania in March, Travelmole reported. 

“Wizz Air is committed to helping the refugees reach their final destinations, wherever that may be,” the airline said.

“Wizz Air has already added larger planes and extra flights from border countries to Europe to help support the movement of refugees as necessary.” 

Wizz Air said it knew many refugees are already in transit and could be stranded in other locations so was offering €29.99 “rescue fares” on other flights, excluding those to the UAE, Iceland and the Canary Islands.

Ukrainian refugees may book the flights by visiting the website https://wizzair.com/#/rescue

Passengers will be required to provide their Ukrainian passport or ID card number when booking and at check-in.

The airline has suspended its Ukraine flights but said it has added larger planes and extra flights from border countries to the rest of Europe to help support the movement of refugees to their final destinations.

Budget airline expands its footprint in Europe

Budget airline Wizz Air is name that anyone who fancies a cheap trip from London this summer should jot down. 

Wizz this week announced it will launch four new routes from its London Gatwick base to Burgas and Varna in Bulgaria and Venice and Palermo in Italy.

It will also increase the frequency of flights on recently announced new routes to Larnaca in Cyprus, Milan and Vienna, Travel Mole reports.

Tickets are available now on wizzair.com starting from £8.99 - which is an incentive to hop on a flight to somewhere you have never visited before. 

Wizz Air will fly five times a week to Venice from March 27 and twice weekly to Palermo, the capital of Sicily, from March 29.

From June 15 it will launch five flights a week to Varna and four flights a week to Burgas. 

From the end of March, all of Wizz Air’s flights from Italy to London will be operating from and into London Gatwick. 

"Today marks another important step in our continued expansion at Gatwick," said Marion Geoffroy, managing director of Wizz Air UK.

"The lifting of Covid travel restrictions for fully vaccinated passengers arriving in the UK is a positive development for the travel industry, and we’re looking forward to welcoming more customers onboard."

A return flight for the cost of a couple of pizzas

In Australia we have to settle for Jetstar's mediocrity but in Europe there are still several budget airlines that deliver affordable getaways to obscure destinations.

OK. You might have to put up with minimal leg room, absurd baggage rules, check-in penalties and other annoyances, but who could resist a flight to Podgorica from London for about the same price as a large pizza.

There might be the risk your carrier goes bankrupt before you can get on board, or that your return flight is interminably delayed, but that's all part of the fun - and you do get what you pay for.

One of the rising stars of budget flying is Wizz Air UK, which this week unveiled new routes from its expanded Gatwick Airport base.

New destinations include Faro, Palma, Larnaca, Catania, Podgorica, Tel Aviv, Chania (never heard of it, to be honest), Mykonos and Funchal (a super destination for wine lovers, although landings can be a bit scary).

There will also be new routes from Milan, Rome, Vienna, Bari and Naples to Gatwick Airport, with those flights operated by Wizz Air Hungary.

Tickets are on sale via wizzair.com and on the airline’s mobile app, starting from £8.99 (yep, under $20). 

Had I been in a position to do so, I could have booked an April return trip to Montenegro for around £50 (that's just $92 for Australians - what a great deal).  

A mixture of year-round and seasonal routes, the new flights will launch from March onwards, Travel Mole reports.

Wizz Air is adding four new aircraft at Gatwick Airport after securing extra landing slots.