Wizz Air December Traffic Rises 58%

Shares of Airlines such as Wizz Air (LON: WIZZ), International Consolidated Airlines (LON: IAG), and EasyJet (LON: EZJ) are up in early Tuesday trading after WIZZ released its December 2022 traffic data.

The airline revealed it carried 4.18 million passengers during the month, representing a 58.4% rise year-over-year at a load factor of 84.5%. It also increased capacity by 41.4% to 4.95 million from 3.5 million in December 2021.

At the time of writing, Wizz Air and easyJet shares have gained more than 2%, while IAG is up more than 4% as London-listed airlines start the year positively.

While macroeconomic headwinds persist, there is more positivity for the continuing aviation recovery heading into 2023, with demand remaining robust.

In early December, BofA analyst Muneeba Kayani upgraded IAG and Wizz Air to Buy from Neutral. The analyst set a 200p price target for IAG and a 3,200p price target for WIZZ, telling investors that while a slow start for European airlines is expected in 2023, they see a recovery beginning to emerge in the second quarter.

Kayani said in a research note to clients that the firm sees demand potentially surprising to the upside in 2023, and while balance sheets are stretched, there is sufficient liquidity, and potential acquisitions are the bull case for the sector.

Wizz Air’s December traffic statistics already suggest demand will at least remain robust over the Christmas/New Year period.