Delta Air Lines is now rolling out fast, free Wi-Fi by T-Mobile on select long-haul international routes, with most transatlantic flights to be in service with free Wi-Fi by the end of the summer.
01.08.2024 - 18:09 / skift.com / Wizz Air / Gordon Smith
Wizz Air is being hit harder than most by an industry-wide engine grounding. On Thursday, the European low-cost giant gave investors an update detailing just how badly its fleet is being impacted.
At the end of June, Wizz had 46 jets out of action due to inspections – that’s around one in every five of its planes.
The root cause is quality problems with some Pratt & Whitney engines that power the airline’s Airbus A320neo aircraft. These new-generation jets make up almost two-thirds of Wizz Air’s fleet.
In July 2023, the manufacturer discovered that some of its geared turbofan units produced between 2015 and 2021 had contaminated powdered metal. If left unchecked, this could interfere with the regular function of the engines.
In a sobering update, Wizz predicted that the problem is not going away anytime soon. On Thursday, the airline said it expects the peak of the groundings to come in September 2025, when 47 planes are due to be out of service. While this is down slightly on the earlier estimate of 50 aircraft, the average turnaround time for each engine is 300 days, making each repair incredibly time-consuming and potentially costly.
Wizz is trying to boost its pool of spare parts to help limit the operational impact, but tight global supply chains make this challenging.
The company noted that compensation from Pratt & Whitney does not fully offset the cost of the grounding. The payments cover the period up until the engines are returned to the airline, but not any downtime while they are redeployed into regular service. Wizz confirmed that “management is in negotiations with regards engine return targets for next year, as well as compensation rates and structure.”
Wizz is also facing separate capacity issues from delivery delays at Airbus. The airline says it could see between 30 and 35 aircraft delayed next year, which may impact its fleet program into 2026 and beyond. The Budapest-based operator is not alone in this respect, with almost every major airline experiencing delays from manufacturers.
Wizz also flagged “structural air traffic control [ATC] issues persisting.” It highlighted its first flights of the day being delayed, which can lead to a higher number of end-of-day cancellations. Ryanair chief operating officer Neal MacMahon recently blasted the continent’s ATC as “shambolic.”
Despite the challenges, Wizz’s on-time performance improved during the quarter, from 60.5% to 67.6% of flights.
The update on the grounded planes was contained within Wizz Air’s second-quarter earnings report. The budget airline posted a 44% drop in its operating profit for the quarter ending June 30, with engine issues identified as a key factor.
Wizz also trimmed its forecast for the coming year. Net income
Delta Air Lines is now rolling out fast, free Wi-Fi by T-Mobile on select long-haul international routes, with most transatlantic flights to be in service with free Wi-Fi by the end of the summer.
Maui still faces an uphill battle for a full tourism recovery one year after one of the deadliest wildfires in Hawaii’s history.
It's a new month, and new months always bring exciting new promotions and travel deals to enjoy! Check out our list of top travel deals, going on now through the end of August and September.
Offering business class flights at a fraction of the cost, this airline says it’s creating a new niche in luxury travel.
Picking a seat on a plane can often feel like a Goldilocks dilemma to me. That aisle seat that's way up front, so I can get off quickly and not miss my connection, but will likely mean my shoulder gets knocked against each time someone passes by. A window seat that's too far back but is also on the right—and I know I sleep better when I lean in that direction. From the minute I book a flight until the final seconds before boarding, I find myself pulling up the airplane seat map to reassess my options for finding a seat that is “just right.”
The Olympics are big business. Alongside broadcasting rights, merchandising, and ticket sales, corporate sponsorship plays a vital revenue-generating role. However, from a travel perspective, Airbnb is the only company currently in the International Olympic Committee’s TOP – or ‘The Olympic Partners’ – Program.
The Solheim Cup is heading to the Capital Region USA, taking place between 10-15 September 2024 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia. A premier event in women’s golf, in the same league as the Ryder Cup, it is also a beacon for tourism, attracting visitors from across the globe to the Capital Region USA. Yet for the British, it holds a special place in their hearts, resonating with the 5.6 million golfers in Great Britain and Ireland, the largest community in Europe.
A global IT outage on Friday canceled thousands of flights and forced several airlines to request ground stops, throwing travel into chaos.
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, July 17, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us and terms apply to offers listed (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate credit cards to write unbiased product reviews.
The years following the pandemic have been a boom period for travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina’s famed capital city.
Uber users in France and the Netherlands can now earn points for flights with Air France-KLM.