About Wizz Air
Wizz Air was founded in 2003 in Budapest by József Váradi (ex-Malév CEO) with backing from Indigo Partners — the same US private-equity group behind Frontier Airlines, Volaris and JetSMART. The airline started with a single Airbus A320 and a route from Katowice to London Luton, and has grown into Central and Eastern Europe's dominant low-cost carrier.
Wizz operates a Ryanair-style ultra-low-cost model with a strong regional focus — connecting Central and Eastern European cities to Western Europe (especially the UK and Italy) where they don't have their own flag carrier or it's been dismantled. Routes from Budapest, Bucharest, Warsaw, Sofia, Belgrade, Kraków, Tirana, Chișinău and Kyiv (suspended since 2022) to Luton, Birmingham and Liverpool are its bread and butter.
The airline is listed on the London Stock Exchange despite its Hungarian HQ, and had ambitious plans for a long-haul operation via "Wizz Air Abu Dhabi" (a JV with ADQ) which has since been scaled back. Wizz Air is not part of any alliance. It operates an all-Airbus A320-family fleet, and is one of the largest Airbus A321neo operators in Europe.
Routes & UK bases
Wizz Air operates from five UK airports, with London Luton by far the largest (Wizz is one of Luton's two biggest carriers alongside easyJet).
| UK base | Strength | Typical destinations |
|---|---|---|
| London Luton | Wizz Air's UK flagship — dozens of daily departures | Budapest, Bucharest, Warsaw, Sofia, Krakow, Belgrade, Vilnius, Riga, Tirana, Chișinău, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi |
| London Gatwick | Smaller secondary London base | Budapest, Bucharest, Warsaw, Tirana, Sofia |
| Liverpool | Northern base | Budapest, Bucharest, Warsaw, Gdansk |
| Birmingham | Midlands base | Budapest, Bucharest, Warsaw, Sofia |
| Doncaster-Sheffield (historic) | Closed 2022 when airport shut | — |
Baggage allowance
Wizz Air operates a near-identical baggage policy to Ryanair — small free under-seat bag, everything else paid.
| Item | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Small personal bag (free) | 40 × 30 × 20 cm · under the seat · 10kg |
| Cabin bag 10kg (paid) | 55 × 40 × 23 cm · requires Wizz Priority or Go fare |
| Checked bag 10kg (paid) | From £10 pre-booked online |
| Checked bag 20kg (paid) | From £20 pre-booked |
| Checked bag 32kg (paid) | From £35 pre-booked |
| Oversized gate bag penalty | £70 per item |
Wizz Discount Club — paid membership (roughly £30/year "Standard" or £60/year "Group") gets you discounted fares and cheaper bags. If you're planning 3+ Wizz trips a year, the membership pays for itself. See full baggage guide →
Check-in
Online check-in opens 48 hours before departure for Basic fares (30 days for Wizz Flex or Wizz Priority passengers) and closes 3 hours before. Airport check-in costs around €35 and is strongly discouraged by the airline — you'll be herded back to a self-service kiosk in most cases.
- Wizz Air app or wizzair.com: 48 hours before — free.
- Self-service kiosks: Available at most airports.
- Airport check-in desk: €35 per passenger — avoid.
Fleet
Wizz Air operates an all-Airbus A320-family fleet of around 220 aircraft. The breakdown is roughly 50 × A320ceo (phasing out), 50 × A321ceo, 35 × A320neo, and 90+ × A321neo (the dominant aircraft — 239 seats at 28-inch pitch, one of the tightest seat configurations in Europe). Wizz has a large outstanding A321neo and A321XLR order book — the latter opens up longer-range possibilities for future Middle East and South Asia routes.
Cabin classes
Single economy class only — no Business, no Premium Economy. 28-inch pitch on A321neo.
On-time performance
Wizz Air's OTP (arrivals within 15 minutes) typically runs at 70–75% — one of the weaker numbers in Europe. The airline's aggressive fleet utilisation (some aircraft do four or five rotations a day) means any disruption cascades badly. Summer 2024 European ATC strikes dragged Wizz below 60% for several weeks. Luton's runway capacity also contributes to delays.
Passenger reviews
Typical strengths: unbeatable fares on CEE routes where nobody else flies (Luton–Chișinău, Luton–Pristina, Luton–Skopje); clean and modern A321neo fleet; strong route network into Eastern Europe including destinations many UK travellers don't realise they can fly direct to.
Typical criticisms: consistently low OTP; aggressive gate-bag enforcement similar to Ryanair; slow customer service on disruption claims; 28-inch seat pitch on A321neo is tighter than competitors; Luton's runway capacity and its single runway cause repeat delay waves; complaints about being charged for carry-on bags that passed easyJet's sizer the day before.
Aggregate score across Trustpilot, Skytrax and AirlineRatings: 6.8 / 10.
⚖️ Wizz Air flight delayed or cancelled?
Wizz Air is subject to UK261 for UK-departing flights and EC261 for EU-departing flights. Delays of 3+ hours or cancellations within 14 days can mean up to £520 per passenger. Wizz Air historically has one of the slowest claim resolution rates — many passengers turn to third-party claim services or the UK CAA.
Check my claim → Read the rules →Wizz Air FAQs
Just a small personal bag, 40 × 30 × 20 cm, up to 10kg, which must fit under the seat in front of you. Anything larger needs Wizz Priority (about £8–15 add-on) or a Go/Plus fare that bundles it in. The gate penalty for an oversized bag is £70.
Standard membership is around £30/year and discounts fares by £10–30 and bags by £5–10 per journey. If you're flying Wizz even once per year you may cover the cost; if flying 3+ times a year it's comfortably worthwhile. Group membership (£60/year) covers up to 5 passengers on the same booking.
No. Wizz Air does not operate from Heathrow. Its London bases are Luton (primary) and Gatwick (secondary). It does not fly from Stansted, Heathrow or London City.
Wizz is often the only direct UK operator on routes like Luton to Chișinău (Moldova), Pristina (Kosovo), Skopje (North Macedonia), Tirana (Albania), Yerevan (Armenia) and Kutaisi (Georgia). For these markets, Wizz is effectively the only choice from London.
Wizz Air flies to Abu Dhabi from Luton and Gatwick using its standard A321neo — it's medium-haul, not long-haul in the traditional sense. "Wizz Air Abu Dhabi" was a separate JV intended for longer routes into Asia; most of those plans have been scaled back due to geopolitical and operational reasons.
Wizz configures its A321neo aircraft in a 239-seat layout with 28-inch pitch — one of the tightest in Europe. The goal is maximum seat density on popular Eastern European routes where fares are so low that every extra seat matters for economics. For a more comfortable journey, consider paying for front-row or emergency exit seats.