Wizz Air Celebrates 6 Months at Kutaisi Base & 200% Passenger Growth

Wizz Air, the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe and Georgia’s leading LCC carrier, last week celebrated the remarkable results of the first six months of successful operations at its Kutaisi base.

In only six months of the base opening in Kutaisi, Wizz Air carried more than 100,000 passengers on its low-fare routes from Kutaisi, furthermore, the results of the first quarter of 2017 (January-March) show a passenger growth of more than 200% y-o-y. Overall, in 2016, more than 168,000 passengers enjoyed WIZZ’s low-fares and excellent on board service, further stimulating the local job market in aviation and tourism and supporting 126 additional indirect jobs* in associated industries.

Wizz Air, the pioneer of high quality and low-fare air travel in the Georgian market, has been dedicated to its Georgian customers since 2012, when the first WIZZ flight took off from Kutaisi to Kyiv.

As the first airline to operate commercial flights from Kutaisi International Airport, Wizz Air continues expanding its operations in the country and bringing even more low-fare travel opportunities for its passengers. In September 2016, Kutaisi became WIZZ’s 25th base with one modern Airbus A320, creating 36 new direct jobs with the airline and expanding its low-fare network to 11 destinations to 8 countries, including the upcoming service to London-Luton commencing on 18 June. In 2017, with over 85% increased seat capacity, WIZZ is offering more than 365,000 seats on sale to and from Kutaisi.

Committed to the Georgian market for more than 5 years, Wizz Air is looking to further stimulate the inbound tourism along with the development of business and aviation industries, creating new travel opportunities across Europe, more than 100 destinations being available through several WIZZ bases like Budapest, Warsaw, Vilnius and Katowice. With fares as low as GEL 44.99, travelers can book their tickets for a holiday or a weekend getaway to any destination on wizzair.com or via the free Wizz Air mobile app. The easy booking system, designed for WIZZ customers who are always on the go and need the fastest access, will offer maximum flexibility for customer-tailored fares.

Speaking at a press conference in Tbilisi, József Váradi, Chief Executive Officer at Wizz Air, said: “Only six months since the start of our Kutaisi base operations, Wizz Air is celebrating remarkable results and a new passenger record. As the leading low cost carrier in Georgia, our investment in the country created affordable travel opportunities for our passengers and during the first quarter of 2017, our traffic numbers tripled. In 2017, with the upcoming route to London, we expand our Kutaisi offering to a total of 11 services across 8 countries. We look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership with Kutaisi International Airport and remain committed to bringing even more exciting opportunities that can best meet our Georgian customers’ needs, while further stimulating economic and business relations through the country”.

About Wizz Air

Wizz Air is the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, operates a fleet of 80 Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircraft, and offers more than 500 routes from 28 bases, connecting 140 destinations across 42 countries. At Wizz Air, a team of approximately 3,000 aviation professionals delivers superior service and very low ticket prices making Wizz Air the preferred choice of 23 million passengers in 2016. Wizz Air is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WIZZ and is included in the FTSE 250 and FTSE All-Share Indices. Wizz Air is registered under the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), the global benchmark in airline safety recognition. The company was recently named 2016 Value Airline of the Year by the editors of Air Transport World, one of the leading airline trade magazines, as well as 2016 Low Cost Airline of the Year by the Center for Aviation (CAPA), a leading provider of independent aviation market intelligence.