Wizz Air deepens cuts to its summer schedule

Bloomberg

Wizz Air Holdings Plc will deepen cuts to its summer schedule, doubling down on efforts to combat disruption from a staffing squeeze that’s upended Europe’s transport
industry.
After announcing a 5% reduction in peak-season seating, Wizz, the region’s third-biggest discount carrier, will extend the cuts to about 10%, Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi said.
“We’ve been going through some real pain in terms of staff shortages at airports and air traffic control,” Varadi said. “We decided to trim capacity further to create more contingency and more of a buffer.”
Wizz, the leading discounter in Eastern Europe, had initially held back from slashing capacity as much as some rivals since the airports from which it operates have generally faced less of a staffing squeeze than the biggest hubs.
Even after the more severe cuts the airline is still lifting summer seating 30% compared with 2019, one of the biggest hikes in the industry.
Shares of Budapest-based Wizz traded 6.3% higher in London, where it has its main listing, trimming their decline this year to 50%.
Varadi said demand for flights remains strong and confirmed Wizz expects to post “a material operating profit” for the fiscal second quarter through September as revenue and pricing momentum continues to improve.
Varadi said there are no plans to curtail fleet expansion and Wizz is keen to
maintain new jetliner deliveries from Airbus SE on schedule in anticipation that a tougher economic climate
will push more customers in its direction.