Finally, Wizz Air confirmed that the first route on which it will deploy its new and disruptive Airbus A321XLR will be the one connecting London-Gatwick with King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Last week, the ultra low-cost airline had confirmed for the first time a route with this variant, Milan – Abu Dhabi, leading to the mistaken interpretation that this would be the debut in its network, which was corrected today.
At an event held today in the British capital, the airline announced that the first flight between London-Gatwick and Jeddah is scheduled for March 31, 2025, operating on a daily frequency.
The CEO of Wizz Air, József Váradi, stated that this route, with a significant component of VFR (visiting friends and relatives) or religious travelers, is ideal for the launch of the A321XLR due to its cost efficiency in transporting 239 passengers in a single class. With a distance of 4,680 kilometers, it will be the longest route operated by a low-cost airline in the United Kingdom.
The decision to base its first A321XLR at London-Gatwick reinforces the growth that Wizz Air has experienced at that airport since the opening of its base there in October 2020. Currently, it has five A321neo aircraft based at London-Gatwick, operating to 26 destinations in 17 countries, employing 259 local workers.
On the other hand, Wizz Air faces competition from Saudia, which operates six weekly flights between Jeddah and London-Gatwick using Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft. At London-Heathrow, Saudia also operates 15 weekly flights from Jeddah, with an additional six flights from British Airways using Boeing 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft starting in November.
Wizz Air has ordered 47 Airbus A321XLR aircraft (of which it will receive 8 in 2025), although its portfolio of aircraft pending delivery totals 306, also including other variants of the A321neo and A320neo.
While Wizz Air will be the first ultra low-cost carrier to operate the A321XLR, the honor of being the first airline to do so will go to Iberia starting in October of this year, when it debuts the aircraft on its routes from Madrid to Boston and Washington/Dulles.
Airbus has already accumulated around 600 orders for the A321XLR from airlines such as United, American Airlines, JetSMART, SKY, Iberia, and LATAM, among others. This aircraft, equipped with additional auxiliary tanks, has the capacity to fly up to 4,700 nautical miles (8,700 kilometers). To take advantage of this increased fuel capacity, the maximum takeoff weight of the A321XLR has been increased to 101 tons, compared to 97 tons for its predecessor, the A321LR. Additionally, the landing gear has been reinforced.
