Wizz Air reports another month of growth in capacity, passengers

2nd Nov 2023 09:08

(Sharecast News) - Wizz Air reported further growth in capacity and passenger numbers on Thursday, with the number of people flying in October up almost a fifth over last year.

The FTSE 250 low-cost carrier said it transported 5,404,480 passengers in October, which was 19.4% higher than the same month in 2022.

Additionally, the airline achieved an impressive load factor of 92.5%, up 3.1 percentage points.

Its capacity totalled 5,843,047 seats for the month, which was 15.4% higher year-on-year.

Over the 12 months through October, its capacity was up 28.6% year-on-year at 64,108,442, while passenger numbers expanded 37.2% to 58,450,975, and its load factor was ahead 5.7 percentage points at 91.2%.

Due to the ongoing conflict in Israel, Wizz Air said it had suspended operations in the region until 15 November.

Looking ahead, it said it had ambitious expansion plans in key markets, including Italy, Romania and Albania.

A significant part of that strategy involved adding new A321neo aircraft, with Rome and Milan in Italy set to receive four, Bucharest in Romania adding two from June next year, and Tirana in Albania getting two from the upcoming summer season.

The airline said the additions would result in both new routes, as well as increased flight frequencies on existing ones.

Wizz Air said it was also introducing an eighth aircraft to its Gdansk fleet in Poland, starting in April.

It had also announced new flight routes, including services from Budapest and Bucharest to Glasgow in November, as well as flights from Debrecen in Hungary to Rome Fiumicino in December.

Looking at its carbon emission statistics, Wizz said that over the rolling 12 months through October, it achieved 51.4 grams of carbon dioxide per passenger-kilometre.

For October specifically, carbon dioxide emissions were recorded at 50.7 grams per passenger-kilometre, reflecting a 5% reduction year-on-year.

At 0922 GMT, shares in Wizz Air Holdings were up 4.79% at 1,630p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.