Wizz Air invests $100 million to expand Budapest operations

Wizz Air A320. Courtesy, Airbus

Hungarian-based Wizz Air (W6) announced it will invest HUF25 billion ($100 million) into expanding its Budapest operations after state-owned Malev Hungarian Airlines ceased operations Friday (ATW Daily News, Feb. 6).

W6 said it will add two Airbus A320s at the base in March, representing a 66% increase in capacity. It expects yearly passengers carried to reach 2 million—up 42.9% over its previous estimate of 1.4 million.

It will also launch one new route—3X-weekly Budapest-Bucharest—and will increase frequencies to London Luton, Brussels Charleroi, Eindhoven, Milan Bergamo, Rome, Barcelona, Malmo, Madrid, Stockholm Skavsta, Bourgas, Bari, Dortmund, Gothenburg, Tirgu Mures, Frankfurt Hahn, Naples, Bologna Forli, Turku, Catania, Pisa, Palma de Mallorca, Corfu and Antalya.

Between the new route and the increased frequencies, the carrier’s weekly flights will nearly double from 67 to 129.

W6 operates a fleet of 34 A320 aircraft from 15 bases.

"Wizz Air remains highly committed to Hungary, our homeland,” W6 CEO József Váradi said. “We have been growing year-on-year since the start of operation in 2004. We will continue to meet the increase in consumer demand and continue to offer new jobs in Budapest.”