Wizz Air today raised its full-year profit guidance by €10 million to between €175 million and €185 million after reporting “robust” summer demand.
The central and eastern European low-cost carrier expects to increase capacity by 17% over the course of the year.
The airline said: “Forward bookings indicate robust demand for the important peak summer period.”
Pre-tax profits for the three months to June 30 were up by 11% to €34.5 million as ticket revenue rose by 6.7% to €205.9 million and ancillary income by 23.9% to €126.6 million over the same quarter last year.
The airline saw passenger carryings increase by 20% to 4.9 million across its network of 380 routes across 38 countries from 22 bases.
The fleet was expanded to 62 Airbus A320s with the addition of seven aircraft during the quarter.
The airline last month announced plans to acquire 110 new generation A321neo aircraft with deliveries starting in 2019.
Chief executive, József Váradi, said: “The first quarter has been an exciting period for Wizz Air. We have continued to grow our network and increase our passenger numbers throughout the period while maintaining an industry leading, ultra-low cost base.
“Today we are pleased to announce a record set of results for the first quarter with a strong performance against all key operating and financial performance measures.
“We are particularly pleased to have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding relating to an order, subject to shareholder consent, for 110 Airbus A321neo aircraft, worth in excess of $12.5 billion at current list prices. This order will provide us with aircraft to continue delivering strong growth for the next decade.
“We continue to deliver against our ambition to make safe, reliable, affordable air travel available to everyone in central and eastern Europe.
“Our ultra-low cost model gives us a clear cost advantage versus most of our rivals, including many other low cost airlines, and as a result we are able to offer our passengers low fares and sustain a relatively high growth rate compared to other carriers.”