Wizz Air’s Zsuzsa Trubek: "Cyprus remains a key market for us"

Wizz Air has big plans for the short- to mid-term, aiming to have 500 aircraft in just six years and to reduce its carbon emissions per passenger/km by 25% by 2030. And the plans extend to Cyprus, according to the airline’s Corporate Communications Manager, Zsuzsa Trubek, who tells CBN that following an extraordinary performance last year - Wizz Air increased its capacity by 70% compared to the year before and operated over 11,000 flights, while doubling its fleet to bring €200m investment into the country - the plan is to grow even further in the local market. "Cyprus remains a key market for us, it is one of our largest inbound markets," she said.

How many destinations does Wizz Air fly to and how big is its fleet?

We currently have 207 aircraft in our fleet and we fly to nearly 200 destinations on more than 800 routes across our network in more than 50 countries.

How many routes do you currently have in Cyprus and are there plans for these to increase?

We fly over 25 routes to 16 countries from Cyprus at the moment.

What is the airline’s strategic plan for the short- to mid-term?

Our short- to mid-term strategy evolves around growing. As I mentioned before, we aim to have 500 aircraft in just six years, in order to reach that goal, we need to continuously grow our fleet, expand our network, grow our bases, while we want to keep launching new routes to serve the needs of our customers the best. On top of that, we have very ambitious goals when it comes to Sustainable operation as well, as we aim to power 10% of our flights with sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 and further reduce its carbon emissions per passenger/km by 25% by 2030.

What are the company’s plans for Cyprus? Any plans to open an office on the island? Other expansion plans?

Our plan is to grow further in Cyprus. We managed the extraordinary last year to increase our capacity by 70% compared to the year before and operated over 11,000 flights, we invested a lot in the market by doubling our fleet at our Larnaca base from 2 to 4 and thus bringing €200m investment to Cyprus, we more than doubled our passenger numbers and grew to not only the largest airline in Larnaca, but also in the whole country. We want to keep growing and offer even more connections for our passengers wanting to visit this beautiful island and especially for our Cypriot passengers who want to be connected with Europe and beyond.

Most recently, Wizz Air expanded in the UAE market. Has this investment been paying off? Do you plan to expand further in the specific market, and could Cyprus play any role in this?

We are at the right place at the right time, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has witnessed a significant growth over the past year, the airline more than doubled its capacity and the number of passengers carried, we added 4 additional aircraft and grew the organisation size by 50%. Cyprus remains a key market for us, it is one of our largest inbound markets.

Wizz Air is about to open a second training facility in Rome, following the success of its first in Budapest. What kind of training does the centre offer? And how much did the investment cost?

A long-term investment of over €38m, our new facility in Rome will provide recurrent training for over 4,800 pilots per year. Moreover, the facility also allows Wizz Air to provide initial training for up to 300 cadet pilots simultaneously as well as train 1,500 flight attendants per year.