London's Southend Airport can chalk up another airline to their growing list of low-cost-carriers. Wizz Air has scheduled two new routes from the airport to Europe, as reported initially by Business Traveller

Wizz Air cuts flights to Kyiv due to Airbus delivery delays. Photo: Wizz Air

What are the details?

Budapest based Wizz Air is one of the world's biggest low-cost carriers behind easyJet and Ryanair. The airline is part of the Indigo Partners group (which also own airlines like Frontier) and is set to operate two new routes from London's Southend airport. They are:

  • London Southend to Vilnius, Lithuania
  • London Southend to Bucharest, Romania
The two routes to be operated by Wizz Air. Photo: GC Maps

The frequencies

London to Vilnius will operate twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday. Bucharest will operate a denser frequency of every day apart from Tuesday and Saturday. Both routes will operate with an Airbus A320.

Now, this is just a guess, but from the way these routes are laid out, it appears that Wizz Air could be using the same plane for both routes as they operate on different days. Other sources have also suggested a third route to Sibiu in Romania is on the cards, but at this time this is unconfirmed.

About Wizz Air

Wizz Air serves 149 destinations with 113 aircraft, all of which are A320 variants. Most are A320-200s, but the airline recently ordered 20 A321XLRs at the Paris Air Show which they might use to fly to Dubai. The airline also has a massive 178 A321neos on order.

In a direct statement to Business Traveller, Owain Jones, the Managing Director of Wizz Air UK said of the new routes,

“It is exciting to see Wizz Air painting the skies pink at Southend, as we expand our footprint across the Greater London airports."

Wizz Air delays
Wizz Air is confident that they can penetrate the London Market. Photo: Wizz Air

“Whether it’s a family holiday, trip of a lifetime or a quick weekend escape, Bucharest, Vilnius, Castellón and Vienna have something for everyone to enjoy. The Wizz team looks forward to welcoming customers old and new on-board our ultra-efficient fleet of Airbus aircraft very soon.”

A win for customers

Thes routes are a win for customers. Despite being a smaller airport compared to Gatwick, Heathrow, and Luton, Southend is still only a 50-minute train ride from Central London. With low-fares from Wizz Air and much cheaper landing fees than other airports, passengers can expect some great deals over the next few months. The airport is also understood to be working with transport operators to offer later trains and improve transport times.

Wizz Air is believed to have signed a five-year operating contract with Stobart Group, the airport operator. According to Business Traveller, Stobart wants Wizz Air to become a cornerstone airline of the airport, helping bring in five million passengers a year by 2023. As part of its new contract, Wizz Air is expected to deliver 250,000 passengers in its first year.

"The agreement with Wizz Air is another significant milestone in the development of the UK's fastest-growing airport, London Southend Airport,” said chief executive Warwick Brady to Proactive Investors.

“The partnership increases the domestic and European destinations we can offer customers to more than 40 by adding exciting and increasingly popular destinations in Central and Eastern Europe.”

London Southend is also home to Ryanair, EasyJet, Flybe and Air Malta on seasonal routes.

What do you think? Will you fly on the new routes from London Southend?