Investments leaving from Riga land in Vilnius: Wizz Air moves route and plane without finding a place

20 employees will be searching in Lithuania

Wizz Air President Robertas Carey told a press conference for Lithuanian journalists in early August that the company is recovering rapidly and has already reached 2019 the level of flights operated.

He also presented Wizz Air’s plans at Vilnius airport. Another aircraft of the company will remain here.

In addition, this winter the Hungarian airline plans to offer two new routes from Vilnius. In December, Wizz Air flights will depart from Vilnius Airport twice a week to Reykjavik (Iceland) and Yerevan (Armenia).

The airline has announced ambitious plans for 2030. It is planned to triple the fleet to 500 and employ another 4.6 thousand. pilots. As reported by Wizz Air DelphiUntil December of this year, the company is looking for around 20 crew members in Lithuania and around 800 in all its markets.

However, when presenting their development plans at the press conference in Vilnius, Wizz air representatives did not mention anything about plans to close the airline’s base at Riga airport, where 2 aircraft are currently being held.

Reykjavik is the third test

Aviation expert S. Bartkus Delphi says that Wizz Air had not heard anything new at the press conference, as Wizz Air had already flown to Reykjavik twice, but to no avail. According to the interlocutor, Wizz Air started flying from Vilnius to Reykjavik in 2015, after which the flights were briefly suspended, resumed after a while, and ended a second time before the pandemic.

This winter will be the airline’s third attempt to reestablish this course, so in their opinion, it is a return, not a novelty. S. Bartkus points out that in Latvia, one of the closures is Reykjavik, so it will most likely move from Riga airport to Vilnius, and Latvians will be able to reach the Icelandic capital from Vilnius. The next information Delphi confirmed by the company itself.

“I think this direction – on the verge of profitability, flying from Vilnius – far enough. Basically, it is an expensive flight. Maybe they are considering closing flights from Riga, some Latvians will come to fly from Vilnius and may make that direction a success ”, says the aviation expert about the third test.

Remember that Wizz Air was supposed to start flying to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, in 2020. at the end of March, but, as you know, before the pandemic hit, aviation was stopped, so this address was never launched.

“You can tell they are re-announcing that flights to Yerevan are planned,” says S. Bartkus.

Will it be possible to start this winter?

According to him, it is difficult to predict whether Hungarian airlines will be able to open both routes this year, as many new travel restrictions this fall raise many questions.

“The question is whether there will be any new travel restrictions in the fall and, in general, whether the spread of the virus will not encourage passengers to fly less.” In the summer, those fears have faded, but already in the US With the delta spreading, there are signs that the recovery is slowing. The question is whether there will be such a demand in autumn and winter that all directions will come true, ”says S. Bartkus.

The president of the company himself has not previously ruled out the possibility that a pandemic could thwart these plans. In this case, passengers, as they assured, will be offered several alternatives.

“We don’t know what will happen to the restrictions that may affect the market. If the restrictions affect the market, we will give all of our customers a choice: 120 percent value for flight credits or refunds,” Carey said at a press conference.

Close base in Riga

The day after the press conference, Wizz Air announced October 3. with the intention of closing its base at Riga airport. Air conveyor Delphi reported that a plane from Riga will fly to Vilnius, as well as the Reykjavik addresses.

“As is customary in the aviation industry, the frequency of flights varies depending on the travel season and the results of the route. Wizz Air constantly monitors routes to ensure the lowest prices for the most popular services. We have decided to adjust our Latvian network plan and close our base in Riga and take advantage of growth opportunities to reallocate our capacity to other routes with higher demand, which will start on October 30 this year, ”comments Wizz Air spokesperson Andras Rado.

When asked if there are any plans to close even more bases, he responds cautiously: Wizz Air constantly monitors the operations of its routes and bases, but we do not want to speculate on answering any questions about possible base closures. On the contrary, the airline is interested in expanding its route network. The more than 300 routes that have been added to our network in the last 18 months are a great test. “

As previously announced by the company, this year Wizz Air opened 18 new bases and began flying 300 new routes.

I didn’t find a place for you

However, according to an aviation expert, the closure of the Riga base does not mean that Hungarian airlines are currently experiencing difficulties, but it does show that Wizz Air is not doing the same in all countries.

“It is difficult to say why it closes. Maybe you didn’t find a place for yourself. As you know, airBaltic has a very solid base in Riga and will probably face a lot of competition. “Ryanair, unlike Vilnius, is bigger in Riga than Wizz air, so the company doesn’t see much prospect for itself,” says S. Bartkus.

“I would rate Wizz Air as an aggressive and quick decision-making company. If you see that Riga is not doing very well, close the base and transfer capacity to other places, be it Italy or Lithuania. Where they feel better in that place. moment ”, he adds.

Development in Vilnius is tense

However, the interlocutor is reluctant to say that the closure of the Riga base is a reason for Wizz Air to expand in Vilnius.

“I would be more resistant to the expansion it announced.” Once upon a time, Wizz Air had 4 planes at the Vilnius base, then there were 3 left, it was reduced to two during the pandemic, and now the third is returning. It can be said that this is a return to the pre-pandemic level and not even the one that Wizz Air once was. This is one of the things that makes it not a great development, ”says S. Bartkus.

Confirms that the airline has already reached a pre-pandemic level: restored the number of flights: in the summer at the same time. This does not mean that flights have been rebuilt in the same way everywhere, they have been reduced in some places, they have been expanded in some places. But at a certain rate, it is one of the fastest growing airlines in Europe. “

Not all addresses in Vilnius have been restored yet

Company representative A. Rado Delphi says Wizz Air has not yet rebuilt all routes closed from Vilnius due to the pandemic: “However, we are working hard to offer as many routes as possible to as many passengers as possible. Unfortunately, there are many restrictions on COVID-19 that we cannot control and that prevent us from relaunching new and suspended routes on our flight network. “

In terms of passenger traffic, Wizz Air has not yet returned to the 2019 level. “The average load factor in July was around 80 percent. I would say this is a very good indicator to assess a pandemic situation. However, compared to the pre-pandemic era, there was also a 92- 93 percent. The number of passengers is slightly lower than in 2019, “says S. Bartkus.

Wizz Air’s market share at Riga airport was 6% in July. According to the interlocutor, another low-cost airline will share the market. Ryanair has already announced plans to establish a two-aircraft base in Riga.