Wizz Air Holdings has outlined its plans for the 15 daily London Gatwick slot pairs it acquired from Norwegian Group which include the addition of a further four A321-200Ns starting in the summer 2022 season.
"This announcement is further evidence of our commitment to London Gatwick Airport as well as the UK market... Acquiring airport slots at Gatwick Airport will enable us to enhance our presence and competitive position in the London market," Chief Executive József Varádi said.
Having completed the deal, whose value was not disclosed, Wizz Air will increase the number of aircraft at its Gatwick base from one to five A321-200Ns. And while Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) did say its new Gatwick routes would only be announced "in due course,"thet ch-aviation schedules module shows the LCC has already filed them. During the week of March 27, it plans to launch the following new services from Gatwick to:
- Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino, Vienna (daily each),
- Naples Capodichino (4x weekly), and
- Bari (2x weekly).
Additionally, Wizz Air UK (W9, London Luton) will launch new services from Gatwick to:
- Faro, Palma de Mallorca, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion (daily), and Funchal (2x weekly) starting on March 27-28,
- Chania (daily), Podgorica (4x weekly), and Catania (3x weekly) starting on April 7-8, and
- Larnaca (daily) and Mykonos (4x weekly) starting on April 11-12.
Wizz Air currently holds a 2.2% market share by scheduled departure capacity at Gatwick (between the two AOCs) but has long been vocal about its ambitions for growth at the airport, stifled by the lack of available slots. Both the British and the Hungarian AOC also have crew bases at London Luton, Wizz Air's main gateway to London.
