http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/ ... M220140717
Extracts :
Wizz Air now has over 300 routes, annual revenues of 1 billion euros, counts Ryanair, another no-frills airline as its main competitor, and dominates air travel in a region with faster economic growth than the rest of Europe.
Organic expansion in the region and as far afield as Moscow, Tel-Aviv or Dubai is set to continue while a new phase of growth is likely to come from Wizz Air exploiting the difficulties of state-backed regional airlines that are struggling to survive.
"These airlines either disappear, or merge, or shrink a lot from their current size," said Jozsef Varadi, Wizz Air chief executive. "Either way that means opportunity for Wizz Air."
Wizz Air is well placed to pounce on other regional airlines - Poland's LOT [LT.UL], Czech Airlines, Latvia's Air Baltic, and Slovenia's Adria Airways are all propped up by state aid.
LOT is especially vulnerable, with local press reports saying it is in financial difficulties and Wizz Air has many Polish-speaking flight crew and five operating bases in Poland.
The Eastern European low-cost market offers huge opportunities. It is expected to grow to $4.12 bln by 2018 from around $3 billion this year, according to Euromonitor International, or a growth rate of 40 percent compared to 20 percent expected in Western Europe during the same period.
Wizz Air stole a march on its low-cost rivals by entering the untapped eastern European market first, but Ryanair has since caught up.
Ryanair remains Wizz Air's fiercest competitor, with the two companies expected to entrench for an intensifying competition for share of a quickly expanding market.
Wizz Air is now in a straight fight with Ryanair to keep costs down and squeeze revenue from passengers.
Their average ticket prices are nearly identical. The two airlines are fairly close to one another on the main benchmark, cost per available seat kilometer, which for each carrier is around 0.35 euro cents.
Ryanair, Europe's leanest airline, does better on fuel, airport services, and the cost of the aircraft it operates, according to the Centre for Aviation, an Australian-based aviation industry consultancy.
Yet Wizz Air is leaner than Ryanair in others ways, in part because its workforce is based in lower-cost eastern Europe.
"We have produced an annual growth rate of about 15 percent in recent years and our portfolio is so diverse, we are present in so many markets, that I think we can keep that up regardless of any turbulence," said Varadi