Low-cost operator Wizz Air will eventually enter the Dublin market – but won’t be looking for a battle with Ryanair.
“You never say never,” said founder and CEO Jozsef Varadi in an interview with the Irish Independent here, on whether the Hungarian carrier – which flies to Belfast – will enter the Dublin market. “But we have better opportunities than picking a dogfight with Ryanair.”
Wizz Air is the biggest carrier in central and eastern Europe, competing with Ryanair in many markets.
“We are still in a high-growth phase of the airline. We need ammunition to support that growth,” said Mr Varadi, whose airline has a fleet of 74 aircraft, operating from 27 bases. “We’ve done reasonably well to date. In 2019, we will start taking delivery of new aircraft.”
In a separate interview, he felt it was unlikely that Britain would pull out of Europe’s open-skies regime, despite Britain’s Brexit vote. “My assumption is that nothing is going to change,” he said.
Jozsef Varadi was speaking on the fringes of the Airline Economics Conference in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel.
z
