Wizz Air travel tips

Britain's London Luton Airport has suspended all flights until 1400 GMT on Wednesday after a fire in a car triggered a huge blaze. It led to the partial collapse of one of its multi-storey car parks.

There’s a fairly high chance that you’ve never heard of Volotea. But it’s one of the quirkiest budget airlines anywhere on the planet. It’s also (usually) pretty profitable.

Could human waste power the future of air travel? Wizz Air hopes so.

The new capacity means almost 700,000 extra two-way seats from this summer, resulting in a 13% growth from S23.

Air travel to and from Israel plunged in the last three months of 2023 amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, but the number of passengers traveling through Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv still rose 10% in 2023.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, November 10. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Ryanair is aiming to double its business in the fast-growing Polish market and expand across eastern Europe over the next decade, executives said, taking on rival Wizz Air and opening a new front in the battle of the budget airlines.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, October 17. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

For Royal Jordanian CEO Samer Majali, the war between Israel and Hamas creates multiple challenges.

It comes after other carriers, such easyJet and Wizz Air, halted flights to and from Tel Aviv following Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Saturday. Fighting is now into its fifth day after Israel declared “war” against Hamas following the attacks. More than 2,200 people on both sides have died. The UK Foreign Office has advised against all but essential travel to Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories due to the conflict. Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic is to stop its flights to Tel Aviv for the next 72 hours. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “The safety of our customers and our teams is our number one priority, always. After careful consideration, based on latest information, we have taken the decision to pause flying to and from Tel Aviv for the next 72 hours.  “As the dynamic situation evolves, we’ll keep our flying programme under constant review. “Our teams will be in contact with any affected customers to discuss their options, which include rebooking to a later date or a full refund. “We would advise anyone booked to travel to check their flight status on the website before travelling to the airport.”

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates this week revised the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2022 from 6.5 percent to to 7.6 percent. Explaining the reason for the renewed forecast, the bank cited stronger than anticipated performance of non-oil sectors, including tourism, hospitality, real estate, transportation and manufacturing. In its review report for the third quarter, the Central Bank noted that it expects non-oil gross domestic product to grow by 6.1 percent in 2022, compared to its previous estimate of 4.3 percent, while it expected oil gross domestic product to grow by 11 percent in 2022. Explaining the reasons for the steady growth in gross domestic product, the report cited the removal of most Covid-related restrictions, in addition to recovery of the tourism sector, real estate and construction boom, expansion of manufacturing activities, as well as the hosting of global events.

Ryanair on Monday posted its largest ever after-tax profit for its key summer season and said it expected very strong passenger and fare growth for years to come as customers switch from higher-cost rivals.

Saudi Arabia launched the electronic stopover transit visa for international visitors arriving in the country by air from Monday. The transit visa entitles visa holders to stay in the kingdom for four days and the duration of the visa is three months. The visa is free of cost and it will be issued instantly along with the flight ticket, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting sources from the foreign affairs ministry. The ministry clarified that applications for transit visas can be submitted through the electronic platforms of Saudi Arabian Airlines and Flynas. The transit visa allows transit passengers, who wish to enter Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah and visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah in addition to traveling inside the kingdom, as well as attending tourism events. The ministry confirms that the digital transit visa service will contribute to achieving the objectives of Vision 2030 by strengthening Saudi’s position and benefiting from its distinguished strategic location connecting various continents, and attractive station for transit passengers as well as a global tourist destination.

Low-cost carrier Wizz Air has launched a flight subscription program, opting for the same platform that Alaska Airlines uses.

South America’s Avianca has rolled out a subscription program just for businesses.

A revival in domestic air travel to nearly pre-pandemic level propelled India to the big leagues of major aviation markets, according to the trade body, the International Air Transport Association’s latest market analysis report. Domestic travel in India missed the pre-Covid level by 2.2 percent in February 2023 in terms of passenger revenue kilometers, the study said. The country also emerged as the top domestic market in terms of passenger load factor — which studies how efficiently an airline fills seats and generates revenue — when compared to countries such as the U.S., China and Japan, the report said. India recorded passenger load factors of 81.6 percent in February, 85.2 percent in January, 88.9 percent in December 2022, and 87.9 percent in November 2022. Domestic air passenger traffic for all markets measured for February surged 25.2 percent over the year-ago period. Besides aircraft manufacturers, international airlines too are eyeing the growth potential of the Indian aviation market. Just last week, Hungary budget carrier Wizz Air’s CEO Jozsef Varadi said India is a growing opportunity. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is another airline that is planning to expand its capacity in the country, as it looks to drive 20 percent growth from India in the next year, the airline’s CEO Antonoaldo Neves said during his recent visit to the country.

The hotel development pipeline is expected to face disruptions in 2024 due to the significant construction volume in Saudi Arabia and a global logistics and supply industry that has yet to fully recover from the effects of Covid-19.

Ryanair expects passenger numbers in central and eastern Europe (CEE) to surge by at least 50% over the next decade, the airline’s manager for the region said, as it looks to dominate in a less-developed market also targeted by Wizz Air.

Italy’s Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Monday that airlines benefiting from the country’s tourist boom have hiked their prices too much, and demanded an explanation.

Ancillary revenue is the amount of money an airline takes in after charging for its base airfares—also known as airline fees. It might not come as a surprise that the amount airlines get by nickel-and-diming you has been growing steadily over the past decade—but some charge (a lot) more in airline fees than others. How much? Billions.