Funds airline Wizz Air, routinely ranked because the worst airline in Europe, is betting its prospects will “suffer the pain” of grueling long-haul finances flights because it launched a brand new Airbus fleet able to eight-hour journeys.
Talking because it unveiled a brand new set of Airbus A321 XLR light-body plane, Wizz Air CEO József Váradi was assured passengers would snap up low-cost seats on flights able to document distances for the airline.
The brand new Airbus planes permit Wizz Air to extend its most flight time from six hours to eight. The plane’s first route will begin flying from London Gatwick to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, subsequent March.
Fares will begin at simply £134.99 for U.Okay. passengers, whereas it is going to be cheaper nonetheless from Jeddah owing to the U.Okay.’s air passenger responsibility cost. Flights from London to Jeddah are anticipated to final seven hours, whereas flights the opposite means will take simply over seven hours.
Wizz Air expects so as to add 250,000 additional seats from London on the brand new plane subsequent 12 months.
The seats would be the identical configuration as on Wizz’s shorter-haul flights, which means passengers gained’t get the choice to recline on their laborious journey to Saudi Arabia.
The concept of sitting on a Wizz Air flight for upwards of seven hours isn’t for the faint-hearted. The no-frills airline has been ranked Europe’s worst by Which? for 2 consecutive years, receiving only one star for each seat consolation and cabin setting and two stars in each different class.
The airline was additionally extra prone to break up up teams of passengers who didn’t pay for seat choice. An eight-hour flight is a major period of time to be separated out of your flying companion.
Some 44% of Wizz Air passengers surveyed by Which? reported some form of downside with their journey.
Wizz CEO Váradi dismissed the concept passengers would possibly balk on the prospect of putting up with an eight-hour flight on his airline’s single-aisle, non-reclined seats.
“Look back 15-20 years ago, I thought three hours would test passenger tolerance,” Váradi informed reporters at a press convention.
“I simply suppose that economics are so essential to individuals… that if you take a lightweight physique plane of any sort, and you are taking financial system versus what most individuals do, you sacrifice some stage of consolation.
“You are not on a flatbed. You suffer the pain if you wish for the economic benefits that you are deriving from the transaction,” he added.
Váradi mentioned Wizz had no intention of trying to the West to function finances flights throughout the Atlantic to the U.S. with its new plane.
“We don’t want to be bullied in the ocean,” Váradi mentioned, indicating an absence of competitiveness within the transatlantic market.
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