Luton to India?
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is in discussions with Central and European LCC
Wizz Air on plans to use longer-range Airbus aircraft to connect airports in western and northern India.
“Hungary based LCC @wizzair is ready to acquire [Airbus] A320XLRs for
expansion of their services. They held a meeting with #AAI & expressed interest in connecting Indian cities by 2021. Proposal have been given for connecting airports in western & northern India at first,” Airports Authority of India said Sept. 23 via its official Twitter account.
AAI said the meeting took place at World Routes 2019, which is being held in Adelaide.
Wizz Air has been
growing rapidly, but its operations have been historically limited to Central and European routes. Wizz Air has a strict ultra-LCC focus and is not currently active in India.
Responding to an
ATW request for comment, a Wizz Air spokeswoman said: “Wizz Air continually reviews its routes, bases and opportunities to expand to ensure that we are meeting our passengers’ needs, and will announce these as they happen. The A321XLR is one of the most cost-efficient aircraft available in the market and with its enhanced range capability, represents a significant opportunity for Wizz Air to further expand our network.”
Wizz Air committed to
20 A321XLRs at this year’s Paris Air Show, via a MOU for 50 of the long-range narrowbodies, signed by US private-equity firm and Wizz Air shareholder Indigo Partners.
Indigo has major stakes in four ultra-LCCs—US-based Frontier Airlines, Chile-based JetSmart, Mexico-based Volaris and Hungary-based Wizz Air.
“We are anxious to see the airplane in service. It expands the network opportunity for our carriers dramatically and that’s important strategically to the airlines relative to the market and the competition,” Indigo managing partner
Bill Franke said at the Paris signing ceremony in June. “As we looked at the XLR and the opportunity it would provide to the network of these three carriers, we became convinced this was the aircraft that we needed to add to the portfolio.”
The
A321XLR, which was launched on the opening day of this year’s Paris Air Show, has a range of around 8,700 km, 15% greater than the A321LR. Depending on cabin configuration, it can carry up to 244 passengers.
At the time, Wizz CEO József Váradi said the XLR gives the Central and Eastern Europe airline an opportunity to extend its network.
“If you look at our network, it spans the Canary Islands to Astana [Nur-Sultan], Reykjavik to Dubai. It’s a huge geography and we believe the XLR will bring unique opportunities to extend the operating model.”
Victoria Moores
[email protected]