Wizz Air expects to return to capacity growth next year after suffering a plunge in quarterly profits amid ongoing aircraft engine problems.
The Bulgarian budget carrier was forced to ground 46 of its Airbus fleet in the last quarter due to the need to carry out inspections on Pratt & Whitney GTF engines.
Net profits for the three months to June dropped by 98% year-on-year to just €1.2 million despite passenger carryings remaining static year-on-year at 15.3 million.
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Total revenue increased by 1.8% to €1.2 billion.
Chief executive Jozsef Varadi said: “Our performance this quarter demonstrates the resilience of Wizz Air’s ultra-low-cost business model.
“Despite the competitive landscape and ongoing supply chain challenges, our strategic focus on delivering the lowest fares, improving our route network, and maintaining high operational efficiency has yielded results.
“The well documented issues relating to Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engines led to the grounding of an average of 46 neo aircraft over the quarter.”
Varadi added: “Looking ahead, capacity is stabilising and we are focusing on further optimising our operations, with an emphasis on improving our most profitable bases and enhancing efficiency.
“We remain optimistic about the demand outlook, with both ticket and ancillary RASK (revenue per available seat kilometre) expected to be up year-on-year while load factor is maintained above 90%.
“We remain on track to return to annual capacity growth in F26 (full-year 2026), underpinned by the pipeline of Airbus deliveries.”
The performance was reported as Wizz Air was embroiled in a row with Which? as it was ranked the worst airline operating from the UK for customer service.
Varadi insisted that the carrier had made “significant operational strides” in the quarter, achieving a 99.8% completion and a 67.6% on-time performance rate, up 7.1 percentage points from last year.
“This improvement is the result of our continuous investment in technology, staff training and infrastructure enhancements,” he added.
“We successfully operate almost 800 routes in over 50 countries between 33 bases across Europe and the Middle East.”