Wizz Air: Operating Profit, RTX Engine Problems

Budget airliner Wizz Air made an operating profit of EUR 522.9 million in the six months to September 30, compared with a loss of EUR 63.8 million a year earlier. In six months, 33 million passengers were carried, compared with 26.5 million a year earlier. An important factor in the improved results was that while revenue per passenger-kilometer rose by 9.6% to EUR 4.91, fuel costs shrank by 26.5% to EUR 1.55.

Wizz Air is one of the airlines that have been hit by problems with their RTX engines this year and have had to cut capacity as a result. As CEO József Váradi told the Reuters news agency, the key issue now is how to complete the engine inspection program with the least disruption to operations.

The airline said that it plans to take delivery of 21 Airbus 321neo aircraft by the end of the 2024 financial year and that it has also received compensation from RTX for its claim to inspect the aircraft's engines.

A Pratt & Whitney engine component used in the manufacture of a raw material does not meet specifications, resulting in the forced removal and overhaul of 1,200 engines from Airbus A320 family aircraft, a failure that is also affecting Wizz Air.

According to RTX, the parent company of Pratt & Whitney, microscopic contamination has been found in the metal dust used in the turbine blades of the high-pressure stages of engines produced between 2015 and 2021, which is why the affected aircraft have to be inspected ahead of schedule, airportal.hu reported.