Wizz Air Q1 F27 Results: Fuel Costs Overpower 25% Passenger Growth

Wizz Air's first-quarter numbers show an airline expanding at speed, but paying a heavy price for fuel and weaker revenue per unit of capacity.

The carrier handled 21.2 million passengers during the three months to 30 June 2026, up 25.1% year on year. Revenue increased by a much smaller 5.5% to €1,507.4 million, while the company swung from a €38.4 million profit to a €198.2 million net loss.

That contrast is the central issue for investors. Wizz Air is filling a rapidly growing network, but each unit of capacity is currently generating less revenue while costing more to operate.

The full figures are available in the original company announcement.

Wizz Air's Q1 figures at a glance

Metric	Q1 F27	Q1 F26	Change
Passengers carried	21.2 million	17.0 million	25.1%
Available seat kilometres	37,217 million	32,401 million	14.9%
Load factor	90.9%	91.1%	-0.2 percentage points
Revenue	€1,507.4 million	€1,428.2 million	5.5%
EBITDA	€147.4 million	€300.2 million	-50.9%
Operating profit/(loss)	(€183.3 million)	€27.5 million	Not meaningful
Net profit/(loss)	(€198.2 million)	€38.4 million	Not meaningful
RASK	4.05 euro cents	4.41 euro cents	-8.1%
Total CASK	4.69 euro cents	4.46 euro cents	5.1%
Ex-fuel CASK	3.05 euro cents	3.11 euro cents	-1.9%

EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. It fell by 50.9% to €147.4 million, with the margin dropping from 21.0% to 9.8%.

Growth is strong, but revenue is not keeping pace

Wizz Air increased seat capacity by 25.4%, carried 25.1% more passengers and operated 21.7% more revenue departures. Demand therefore appears to be absorbing much of the additional flying, with the load factor remaining high at 90.9%.

However, total revenue grew by only 5.5%. Passenger ticket revenue was almost flat, rising 1.0% to €806.9 million, while ancillary revenue increased 11.3% to €700.5 million.

Ancillary revenue includes non-ticket items such as baggage, seat selection and other optional services. Its growth provided some support, but not enough to prevent revenue per available seat kilometre, or RASK, falling by 8.1%.

RASK measures how much revenue the airline generates for each seat kilometre offered. A declining figure can reflect lower fares, shorter average flights, rapid capacity additions or a combination of these factors.

Wizz Air's average stage length fell by 8.4% to 1,592 kilometres as it shifted capacity towards shorter European routes. That supports aircraft productivity, but it also affects comparisons of unit revenue and costs.

Fuel did most of the damage

Fuel expenses rose 39.4% to €610.5 million. Fuel CASK, the fuel cost for each available seat kilometre, increased 21.3% to 1.64 euro cents.

The average fuel price paid, including sustainable aviation fuel, hedging and delivery premiums, was 31.5% higher at US$1,172.1 per tonne. Wizz Air said the market price effect was partly softened by hedging, currency movements and improved fuel efficiency from its growing A321neo fleet.

Total operating expenses increased 20.7% to €1,690.7 million, comfortably ahead of revenue growth. Depreciation and amortisation rose 21.3% to €330.7 million, partly because of fleet expansion and costs associated with returning older aircraft.

There was one encouraging cost signal. Ex-fuel CASK declined 1.9%, helped by lower disruption costs, reduced wet-leasing and improvements in airport and labour unit costs.

Flight disruption and passenger compensation costs fell to €9.0 million from €34.0 million. On-time performance improved by 3.6 percentage points to 82.7%, while the completion rate reached 99.9%.

This indicates that parts of the operation are becoming more reliable, even though fuel and depreciation overwhelmed those gains in the quarter.

Engine groundings continue to ease

Wizz Air had 27 aircraft grounded for Pratt & Whitney GTF engine inspections at 30 June 2026, down from 41 a year earlier.

Management expects 15 to 20 aircraft to remain grounded at the end of F27, with the affected fleet returning to service by the end of calendar 2027.

This is an important improvement. Fewer grounded aircraft should reduce the need for replacement capacity and allow Wizz Air to use more of its own fleet. However, the recovery is gradual rather than immediate.

The airline took delivery of eight A321neo aircraft and two A321neo XLRs during the quarter. Newer neo aircraft accounted for 78% of the fleet, supporting fuel efficiency as older aircraft are phased out.

Investors looking for context can compare the update with Wizz Air's Q3 F26 results and its previous full-year results.

Cash is strong, although leverage has risen

Total cash increased 4.0% from the end of March to €2,212.2 million, including €2,130.3 million of free cash. The liquidity ratio improved to 36.9% from 35.8%.

Net debt also increased, rising from €4,941.5 million to €5,134.5 million following the delivery of 10 aircraft. The leverage ratio moved from 3.7 times at the year-end to 4.4 times.

That leaves a mixed balance-sheet picture. Wizz Air has a substantial cash buffer, but debt and leverage remain meaningful as it continues investing in aircraft and capacity.

Fitch affirmed its BB rating with a Stable Outlook. Moody's lowered its rating from Ba2 to Ba3 with a Stable Outlook, reflecting weaker profitability, elevated leverage and operational cost pressures.

Q2 guidance points to continued pressure

For the second quarter, management expects:

• Available seat kilometres to rise by around 20% year on year.
• Seat capacity to increase by a high-twenties percentage.
• First-half load factor to remain flat year on year.
• Q2 RASK to decline by a low-single-digit percentage.
• Q2 fuel CASK to rise by a mid-to-high-single-digit percentage.
• First-half ex-fuel CASK to rise by a low-single-digit percentage.

The expected RASK decline is less severe than the 8.1% fall reported in Q1, despite another large increase in capacity. That suggests some revenue resilience during the peak summer period, although unit revenue is still expected to move backwards.

Wizz Air has hedged 76% of its expected F27 jet-fuel requirements, with a cap of US$819 per tonne. Hedging can reduce exposure to further price rises, but it does not remove fuel risk entirely.

What investors should watch next

The positive case rests on passenger growth, improving operational reliability, falling engine-related groundings and lower ex-fuel unit costs. The Spanish base openings and the reallocation of aircraft towards shorter European routes could also improve network density and productivity.

The risks are equally clear. Revenue is not matching capacity growth, fuel costs remain elevated, leverage has increased and management expects unit revenue to decline again in Q2.

For Wizz Air Holdings PLC, the next few quarters are likely to be judged on whether rapid passenger growth can translate into stronger unit economics. More passengers are useful, but sustainable progress requires the gap between RASK and CASK to narrow.