Despite projecting an overall loss for the 12 months to March 2023, chief executive of the carrier Jozsef Varadi remains confident the upcoming financial year will be profitable – subject to no adverse pandemic or geopolitical events.
"We are set to return to pre-Covid-19 utilisation levels and to deploy a fleet of circa 185 of the most efficient narrowbody aircraft this summer, across a more diversified network and with a highly engaged workforce of more than 7,000 aviation professionals, without whom this would not be possible," he said in a recent trading update.
The airline saw carryings for the three months to 31 December rise by around 60% year-on-year to 12.4 million. Wizz’s total cash was €1.37b at the end of the calendar year, approximately the same level as at the end of 2021.
Its operating loss for the quarter was reduced to €155.5 million compared with €213.6 million in 2021 after revenue more than doubled to €911.7 million.
"We continue to see evidence of solid fare environment as average fares (combined ticket and ancillaries) are trading above 2019 and 2022 levels," Varadi added.
"As we reach the end of January, we are seeing booking volumes coming in ahead of 2022, which is in line with expectations."
The business expects to see slightly more contribution from longer routes, connecting locations in Middle and near East, as the region continues to attract a higher volume of passengers.
"Recently, we have also seen load factors improve, particularly November, but also during December, despite the impact of skewed directional traffic, which is characteristic in this period," Varadi continued.
"We expect to see load factor gap continue to close vs 2019 in the coming quarters as our recent network investments start to mature."
