By Joanna Plucinska LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Wizz Air expects to limit a financial hit from the Iran conflict to its fiscal year ending this month, CEO Jozsef Varadi told Reuters, with the pressure
Wizz Air CEO Predicts Iran Conflict Impact Will Ease From April
Wizz Air's Financial Outlook Amid Iran Conflict
By Joanna Plucinska
LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Wizz Air expects to limit a financial hit from the Iran conflict to its fiscal year ending this month, CEO Jozsef Varadi told Reuters, with the pressure set to ease from April after a profit warning slammed the budget airline's shares.
The comments are the first since Wizz flagged a 50 million euros ($58 million) hit to its net profit from the war in Iran, which has sideswiped the global aviation market and pushed up oil prices. Its shares fell as much as 10% on Thursday.
The aviation sector has seen a massive selloff this week globally on fears of a protracted conflict in the Middle East, which has hit key airport hubs, led to thousands of flight cancellations and prompted a spike in fuel costs.
CEO Jozsef Varadi's Perspective on Recovery
Varadi said in an interview that the budget carrier expected growth to return for the new fiscal year starting in April and that the fallout from the conflict would be less severe than the war in Ukraine, with demand set to recover and even a potential boost for bookings in Europe.
"We are expecting improvement for fiscal 2027," he said, adding Wizz was still calculating a more detailed outlook and that some uncertainty remained around how long the war might last and how oil prices are affected.
Capacity Shifting Back to Europe
CAPACITY SHIFTING BACK TO EUROPE
The conflict will affect about 5% of Wizz Air's capacity - some 50 flights out of 1,000 daily, he said, but the firm's decision to leave its Abu Dhabi base in September meant that it was far less exposed than it otherwise would have been.
The airline is allocating 60% to 70% of its Middle East capacity back to Europe, to destinations including Italy, Spain, Greece and Albania. For now, it will not focus on expanding into Israel until the situation stabilises, Varadi added.
"The disruption is happening in our low season ... we will have time to reallocate for peak summer," he said, adding that by the end of May or early June, he expected Wizz to be running at full capacity.
Oil Price Hedging and Fleet Management
OIL PRICE HEDGING: 'WE ARE NOT NAKED'
Varadi said Wizz was well hedged for the short term, so a spike in oil prices was unlikely to have a big impact. He added that with fewer flights from Middle Eastern carriers, repair times for RTX-owned Pratt and Whitney GTF engines could also be accelerated for Wizz's fleet.
Wizz said in January it was hedging 83% of its jet-fuel needs for the year to March 2026 at $681 to $749 per metric ton. It has 55% coverage for the year to March 2027 and 7% for the year to March 2028, at $650 to $716 per metric ton and $628 to $694 per metric ton, respectively.
"I don't think any airline is better hedged than Wizz Air," Varadi said. "We are not naked."
(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska. Editing by Adam Jourdan and Mark Potter)
