Wizz Air

Wizz Air was founded in September 2003 by Jozsef Varadi. He had run Malev, Hungary's flag carrier, meaning the country's main national airline. A small group of partners joined him, backed by the American private equity firm Indigo Partners, an investor that buys stakes in companies. The plan was ultra-low fares from the start. The first flight left Katowice, Poland, for London Luton on May 19, 2004.

The timing was deliberate. That flight came weeks after Hungary and Poland joined the European Union, whose enlarged single aviation market Wizz was built to use. The airline grew fast by linking Central and Eastern European cities with Western Europe. It carried migrant workers, students, and budget travelers on routes that older, bigger carriers had ignored. Wizz listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2015 and kept on expanding.

It pushed on through crises that grounded rivals, opening dozens of bases from the Baltics to the Balkans. In 2020 it launched Wizz Air Abu Dhabi with the emirate's state fund, bringing no-frills fares to the Gulf. Brexit pushed it to set up a UK arm. Engine checks have grounded part of its Airbus neo fleet, yet few airlines grow faster. The target is 500 aircraft by 2030.

Wizz Air flies only Airbus jets, roughly 230 aircraft, with an average age near five years. That makes it one of the youngest fleets among large airlines. The core type is the A321neo, seating 239 in a single class, backed by A320neos plus older A320ceos and A321ceos.

A growing group of long-range A321XLRs opens routes such as London to Jeddah. Pratt and Whitney GTF engine inspections have parked some jets at times. Wizz still has well over 200 A321neo-family jets on order, one of Europe's largest order books, all aimed at that 500-aircraft goal.