Wizz Air summer profits down a fifth after engine woes ground aircraft

Profits at Wizz Air fell by more than a fifth over the summer season as one of Europe’s largest low-cost carriers grapples with the grounding of its aircraft due to engine problems. The London-listed airline said on Thursday that net profit for the six months to the end of September fell 21.3% compared with the previous year to E315.2mn, sending shares down by almost 5% in early trading on Thursday. Difficulties with its Pratt & Whitney engines have hampered Wizz Air for more than a year and forced it to ease ambitious growth plans. Wizz is not alone — the aviation supply chain has struggled to produce enough aircraft to meet overall demand since the Covid-19 pandemic. Rival Ryanair on Monday trimmed its passenger forecasts because of Boeing delivery delays. Forty-one Wizz aircraft were on the ground for inspections at the end of September because of potential problems with Pratt & Whitney engines, down from 46 at the end of June. Wizz said it was negotiating a new compensation deal with Pratt & Whitney, after receiving undisclosed compensation for the loss of the aircraft over the summer. The airline said it expected 40-45 aircraft to be grounded at any one time over the next 18 months, an improvement on its previous assumption of 50. “I wouldn’t declare victory,” CE József Váradi said. “I still think that we will really get this whole engine issue behind us, not before 2027.” Wizz has responded to the issues by extending the life of some of its older planes, leasing in aircraft and taking new deliveries from Airbus. But passenger numbers rose by less than 1% year on year to 33.3mn.<br/>