UPDATE 2-European budget airline Wizz upbeat on summer demand, jet fuel supply

Tue, 28th Apr 2026 08:36

* Wizz Air CEO says summer bookings stronger than last year

* Airline 70% hedged on fuel, expects 35 new Airbus aircraft in ‌2026

* Varadi urges Europe to reduce reliance on Middle East jet fuel amid supply risks

LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - ⁠Wizz Air's CEO said on Monday the European budget airline's ⁠leisure summer schedule would be 17% larger this year, with growth focused on the Balkan and Caucasus markets, despite concerns over jet fuel supply and costs tied to the Iran war. "We are much stronger on summer bookings this year than last year," Jozsef Varadi ‌told reporters at a briefing, after airlines including easyJet and TUI announced drops in forward bookings and issued profit warnings in recent weeks. European airlines are entering their first-quarter reporting season, with analysts uncertain about longer-term outlooks as jet fuel hedges start running out in the coming months. Wizz Air is set to report its full year results for the 2026 financial year on June 11 after it issued ‌a profit warning in March.

Varadi said Wizz Air was 70% hedged for its fuel needs for the summer period and would receive 35 ‌new Airbus aircraft during 2026. The Hungarian-based airline was set to renew some of its hedges when they run out this summer in order to protect it against price volatility, he added.

He maintains that he doesn't think jet fuel will run out in the coming weeks. At a price of $1,500 a metric ton for ‌jet fuel, tankers were incentivised to head to the U.S. to collect it, Varadi said, which made up for shortfalls from the Middle East, a major source of jet fuel for European carriers.

However, he does ⁠think ⁠prices could remain high even for months after the war ends.

Varadi said ‌it was a good moment for Europe to reassess its reliance on the Middle East for fuel, especially as the crisis could lead to broader capacity cuts across the industry intensifying in the autumn.

"If you look ‌at the very nature how Europe is accessing jet fuel, I mean, we are far over-dependent on the Middle East. I mean, that's kind of crazy," he said. (Reporting by Joanna Plucinska, writing by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton, Alexander Smith and Keith Weir)