Based on the number of departures, Wizz Air is the fifth-largest airline servicing Europe this summer. It's difficult to overestimate how quickly the ULCC has grown since the outbreak began. Not just in terms of departures, but also in terms of geographic reorientation and served airports.
According to the latest OAG data, Wizz Air Group departures are up by 39% this summer compared to Summer 2019 (S19), the previous usual high season. If you divide the number of extra days by the number of days in the summer season, you'll get roughly 245 extra each day.
Flying from Western Europe to Western Europe accounts for more than half of the rise. It is increasingly pinning its future (and the CEO's pay) on the region's geographic realignment.
It won't always work, as seen by the company's decision to close its Dortmund base, reduce Vienna flights, stop Jersey service swiftly, and end domestic flights in Norway. It isn't anticipated to function all of the time. If it did, it wouldn't be experimenting enough, which is vital for European ULCCs.
Significantly, its bread and butter Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to Western Europe operation accounted for 39% of its increase. While it has grown quickly and from a high base, expansion elsewhere has inevitably driven this market's dominance down.
While this CEE-Western Europe region accounted for nearly all of the company's exits (97 %) a decade ago, it currently accounts for only seven out of ten (72 %), the lowest level ever. In terms of percentage, it will continue to decrease.
