European low-cost carrier Wizz Air has said that it expects to see continued disruption until the end of 2027 due to Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engine issues. Speaking at a conference on Tuesday, the airline’s chief financial officer described the situation as “extremely frustrating”, and emphasized that there is “no absolute guarantee” that the entire fleet will be fully operational by that date.
Reuters reports that Wizz Air currently has 38 A320neo and A321neo aircraft parked for maintenance of their (P&W) engines. While this is down from a high of 60 aircraft a year ago, it still represents nearly a quarter of the airline’s next-generation Airbus fleet. This not only introduces unforeseen costs, directly impacting the profitability of the airline, but it also limits its flexibility and growth opportunities when it comes to route scheduling.
At The Mercy Of The Manufacturer
The Pratt & Whitney PW1000G engines used on Airbus A320neo family aircraft, such as those in Wizz Air’s fleet, have a known manufacturing defect involving contaminated powdered metal in high-pressure turbine and compressor components. This has led to widespread inspections and repairs, grounding hundreds of aircraft and causing significant operational disruptions to airlines over the past few year.
The impact can be seen in Wizz Air’s financials. In its results for FY2025 ended March 31, 2025, Wizz Air reported a 61.7% decline in operating profit, which fell to €167.5 million ($195 million) from €437.9 million ($510 million) in FY2024, with the airline citing “significant challenges” related to P&W engine maintenance. Jozsef Varadi, the exasperated CEO of Wizz Air, bemoaned the situation, saying, “We don’t fully control our destiny here, we are at the mercy of the manufacturer.”
Speaking today at the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT) conference in Prague, Wizz Air CFO Ian Malin says that his airline is still waiting to see significant improvements in turnaround times from P&W, which will be vital if it is to meet its goal of resolving all issues by the end of 2027:
“Overall, the plan right now is to get the entire fleet ‘un-parked’ by the end of calendar year 2027. That is the target that we’re working towards. Right now, Pratt is showing some availability of engines, but the overall turnaround time is not improving. Pratt has said that that’s coming down. I haven’t seen it yet. It is extremely frustrating, because we’ve been dealing with it now for two-and-a-half years.”
The Impact On The Wizz Air Fleet
Wizz Air operates an all-Airbus narrowbody fleet, of which nearly three quarters are A320neos or A321neos, so it is particularly exposed to the P&W engine issues. Malin says that the number of aircraft grounded by long waiting times for GTF engine-related inspections has fallen to 38 from a peak of 60 a year ago. This has also decreased since the end of June when the figure stood at 41.
|
The Impact On Wizz Air’s Fleet |
|||
|
Aircraft Type |
Operational |
Orders |
Parked |
|
A320-200 |
30 |
– |
– |
|
A320neo |
4 |
13 |
2 |
|
A321-200 |
39 |
– |
– |
|
A321neo |
131 |
267 |
36 |
|
Total |
204 |
280 |
38 |
Data from Planespotters shows that these 38 aircraft represent 22% of Wizz Air’s 173 next-generation aircraft. Two are A320neos, and 36 are A321neos. Wizz Air is currently the world’s largest operator of the A321neo, with outstanding orders for a further 267 frames that will be delivered through 2029.
The long-range A321XLR will make up a portion of these A321neos, although not as many as originally projected. Wizz Air originally ordered 47 of the type, but is in the process of reducing its commitment after deciding to close its base in Abu Dhabi. It is now expecting to take a maximum of 15 A321XLRs, and converting the balance into regular A321neo orders.
New Routes From Gdańsk
Despite its ongoing P&W challenges, Wizz Air this week announced a number of new routes from Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport. The airport has been one of Wizz Air’s major operational bases for two decades, and it has nine aircraft based there to serve the northern Polish market and beyond.
The airline launched new routes to Madrid and Catania for the winter season, and has now added five new destinations for the coming months:
- Poprad: Begins December 25 with 2x weekly flights
- Athens: Begins May 1 with 3x weekly flights
- Tallinn: Begins May 1 with 5x weekly flights
- Nice: Begins May 2 with 4x weekly flights
- Vilnius: Begins May 2 with 4x weekly flights
Wizz Air’s arch-rival, Ryanair, is Poland’s largest airline, accounting for about 37% of the country’s capacity, compared to Wizz Air’s 23%. However, that is reversed in Gdańsk, which has historically been a strong market for Wizz Air, second only in size to Warsaw Chopin Airport out of the 12 Polish airports that it operates at. In 2024, Wizz Air carried 2.8 million passengers at Gdańsk, eclipsing Ryanair’s 2.1 million, which explains why it is doubling down with new routes from this position of strength.
