Ryanair-rival Wizz  follows BA, KLM and Lufthansa to cut summer seats

WSizz Air's reductions will add to travel disruptions across Europe.

Wizz Air is cutting 5% of its capacity over the peak summer travel period to reduce the impact of a staffing crisis that’s plaguing the industry.

The low-cost carrier’s reductions will add to travel disruptions across Europe after companies including British Airways, KLM and Lufthansa scrapped flights as demand bounced back from two years of Covid-related restrictions.

Wizz Air is a major rival to Ryanair in central Europe. 

Wizz said it expects to post a “material operational” profit in the quarter ending September following a surge in ticket prices. 

The carrier’s load factors as of July were over 90%, and it expects higher fleet utilization to help improve costs, it said.

Shares fell as much as 4% in London trading. The stock has declined about 58% this year.

“This is smaller than the schedule cuts we have seen at many other airlines, which makes sense: Wizz is less exposed to the most congested airports where problems are greatest,” Alex Irving and Clementine Flinois, anaysts at Bernstein, said in a note to clients. 

Still, lower-than-expected fares in the first quarter “is a question management will need to address”, they wrote.

Wizz said it will report an operating loss of €285m for the quarter ended June due to unrealised foreign-exchange losses, disruptions, and lower utilisation. 

Analysts had expected the carrier to report a €187m operating loss. Wizz is due to report earnings on July 27.

The carrier, which focuses on eastern Europe, has also been affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

With reduced demand for flights to the region, Wizz has redeployed capacity elsewhere in Europe. 

Wizz chief executive József Váradi had said in June the company was confident of returning to pre-Covid productivity by reaching full utilisation of its aircraft this year.

Bloomberg and Reuters.