Wizz Air Shares Rose 4.22% on Jump in February Passenger Data

Wizz Air Holdings PLC (LON: WIZZ) released its February passenger numbers and CO₂ emissions data. The ultra-low-cost airline carried 3,786,739 passengers in February 2023, representing a 97.1% increase compared to February 2021, with a 93.3% load factor.

The airline added a ninth A321neo aircraft to its fleet operating from Abu Dhabi starting this summer. Unfortunately, the budget airline reiterated its decision to suspend its Moldovan operations due to security concerns. The company cited airspace risks created by the war in neighbouring Ukraine and tensions between the country and Russia.

However, Wizz Air offered some relief to its Moldovan customers by increasing its Romanian flights to and from Iasi, Romania. The budget airline also revealed that it would launch a new route from Abu Dhabi to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in the summer. 

The budget airline will use the new A321neo aircraft to relaunch several routes popular with its passengers to Larnaca in Cyprus, Santorini in Greece, and Sohag in Egypt. The airline also announced new routes from Lithuania, Italy and Austria, connecting Rome Fiumicino with Vilnius with Malaga, Rzeszow in southeast Poland, and Vienna with Hurghada.

Wizz Airline also highlighted its efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions, including signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Neste Oyj, to purchase 36,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) annually starting from 2025. 

The ultra-low-cost airline also revealed that it has some of the lowest carbon emissions per passenger/km among most of its competitors. The airline’s overall CO₂ emissions for February 2023 were 48.9 grams per passenger/km, representing an 8.3% decline from February 2022. 

Investors cheered the positive passenger numbers and CO₂ emissions data released by Wizz Air, even though the airline did not release any financial data, which could have helped investors assess its performance better. 

Therefore, investors are patiently waiting for the budget airline's next financial results to gauge how the surge in passenger numbers and lower CO₂ emissions impact the company financially. At the end of the day, investors want to see a financial return from their investments.

Wizz Air shares could rally higher if it releases upbeat financial results, which is highly likely. 

*This is not investment advice. 

Wizz Air share price. 

The Wizz Air share price rallied 4.22% to trade at 2731.5p, from Wednesday’s closing price of 2621.0p.