Wizz Air to increase number of aircraft based in Poland

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air plans to increase the number of seats on offer on its Polish connections this summer by over 50 percent compared to last year, Jozsef Varadi, the airline’s president told PAP.

Varadi added that the Hungary-based carrier will also increase the number of aircraft based in Poland from 20 to 27.

"Poland is a strategic market for us and we pay a lot of attention to it. We are here to be a leader, to continue to develop and grow, " Varadi said in an interview with PAP on Friday.

"This summer season we intend to significantly increase the number of aircraft based in Poland, the number of seats offered, and propose new routes," Varadi said.

According to him, 20 planes are currently based at five Polish Wizz Air bases, in Kraków, Warsaw, Katowice, Gdańsk and Wrocław, and by the summer this number will increase to 27.

One of the new aircraft, he said, would be based at Kraków, the carrier's operating base since May 2019. As a result, the number of planes stationed there will increase to four.

Earlier this month, Wizz Air launched a new connection from Kraków to Dubai. It is, Varadi stressed, a harbinger of a number of new products for the summer season, which will be listed in the carrier's reservation system.

The airline is making the move in expectation of a relaxation of Covid rules.

"I think Covid restrictions across Europe will be lifted quickly," said Varadi. "There are already countries that are leaders in this field, and the others will soon follow. I am convinced that lifting restrictions by governments will significantly increase the willingness to travel, mobility is a very important human need."

Varadi said that the carrier is currently recruiting cabin crew and pilots for its Polish bases in connection with plans to increase capacity and expand the airline's fleet to 500 aircraft over the next 10 years.

"It's a nationwide recruiting campaign, so we're not looking specifically at one base,” he explained. “We will develop our business in Poland in every base where we are present, in Gdańsk, Wrocław, Katowice, Kraków and Warsaw. We will recruit pilots and cabin crew, and also offer international career opportunities."

Wizz currently employs 5,500 employees in 42 operating bases in 26 countries, and by the summer of this year, this number will increase to 6,700 employees.

"This is a very significant growth, so we are not only trying to survive, but we are really trying to use the time of Covid to increase our business by investing in planes, investing in the market, investing in people and investing in systems and processes," said Varadi.

In Poland, he added, the airline employs around 700 employees directly, and the recruitment plans assume the employment of another 300-400 people.