Wizz Air has announced the launch of its first A321XLR route from London Gatwick to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The route will start in March 2025 and take seven hours to complete.
The carrier expects the new aircraft to arrive in February 2025. Wizz Air added that the flight from Gatwick to Jeddah will be an overnight flight operating daily between the two destinations.
This will be the first A321XLR of Wizz Air’s order for 47 of the type to be delivered. It emphasises the Hungarian airline’s ongoing commitment to strengthen its UK presence and enable the addition of longer-range destinations to its network. This announcement follows its earlier launch of the Milan–Abu Dhabi route for the A321XLR, which is set to start in June 2025.
The airline currently has five Airbus A321neo aircraft based at London Gatwick and operates 26 destinations in 17 countries. By 2025, it hopes to boost that number to 96 routes to 30 countries across its two bases in the UK – London Luton and London Gatwick.
József Váradi, Wizz Air’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are excited to offer unbeatable fares to our customers on the new route from London Gatwick to Jeddah. Since establishing our base at London Gatwick in 2020, we have demonstrated ambitious growth, making it a natural, strategic decision to operate our first Airbus A321XLR from this airport.”
The A321XLR has an additional fuel tank, giving the aircraft an extra range of up to 4,700nm. It also has a 30% lower fuel burn compared to previous-generation aircraft.
Capacity and XLR fleet delivery
On the A321XLR, Váradi confirmed that the seat pitch and configuration – at 239 seats – will mirror the current layout in its A321neos. The CEO also confirmed that the XLRs – when delivered – will be scattered around its bases, with roughly three to five aircraft per base.
Whilst it had initially expected around eight XLRs to be delivered during 2025, Váradi was reluctant to commit to a precise number, largely due to the ongoing supply chain difficulties the low-fare carrier has been facing.
“We’re shooting at moving targets here,” he commented. “We are at the mercy of Airbus and what they can deliver.”
It is expecting in summer 2025 to boost fleet size by 15-20% capacity than its 2024 numbers. Váradi confirmed that this percentage would be made up of a mix of new aircraft deliveries, old aircraft returns and engine gains from AOGs.
Due to PW1100G engine maintenance, 20% of its fleet is currently on the ground, but the company expects that number to decrease over the next 18 months.
“The fleet continues to grow. It’ll be around 30 to 35 aircraft in the next year, but there are a lot of internal dynamics,” he concluded.
An A321 aircraft. Photo: Airbus
