Wizz Air Q3 F26: growth in seats and sales, but operating loss deepens
Wizz Air has delivered a classic winter quarter for a low-cost carrier: decent growth, solid cash build, but a larger operating loss as engine and inflationary cost pressures bite. The headline numbers for the three months to 31 December 2025 show passengers up 12.5% to 17.5 million and revenue up 10.2% to €1,296.4 million, but an operating loss of €123.9 million, up €48.0 million year on year. The net loss narrowed to €139.3 million from €241.1 million, helped by far lower FX losses.
Management kept leaning into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Italy and London, lifted market share in CEE to 26%, and continued chipping away at the Pratt & Whitney GTF engine disruption. Cash rose again, leverage eased, and guidance points to a broadly breakeven full year.
| Key metric | Q3 F26 | Q3 F25 |
|---|---|---|
| Passengers | 17.5 million | 15.5 million |
| Total revenue | €1,296.4 million | €1,176.8 million |
| EBITDA (margin) | €176.2 million (13.6%) | €157.1 million (13.3%) |
| Operating loss | -€123.9 million | -€75.9 million |
| Net loss | -€139.3 million | -€241.1 million |
| Load factor | 89.8% | 90.3% |
| RASK (revenue per ASK) | 3.83 Euro cents | 3.86 Euro cents |
| Total CASK (cost per ASK) | 4.35 Euro cents | 4.25 Euro cents |
| Total cash | €1,984.8 million | €1,736.0 million (31 Mar 2025) |
| Net debt | €5,196.0 million | €4,956.3 million (31 Mar 2025) |
| Fleet at period end | 257 | 226 |
| GTF grounded aircraft | 33 | 40 |
Revenue and pricing: slight RASK dip, ancillary softness
ASKs (available seat kilometres) rose 11.1% as Wizz Air flew more routes with slightly shorter average stage length. Load factor eased 0.5 percentage points to 89.8% and total RASK dipped 0.8% to 3.83 Euro cents.
There is a split picture underneath. Ticket RASK edged up 0.2% to 2.06 Euro cents, while ancillary RASK fell 2.0% to 1.77 Euro cents. Average revenue per passenger was €74.23, down 2.1% year on year, with ticket at €39.9 and ancillary at €34.3. That hints at a tougher upsell environment in winter, despite ongoing product initiatives.
The “All You Can Fly” membership offer moved into its third phase, with 10,000 new annual memberships at €499. Since launch, subscribers have flown an average of nine times each per year, which should support repeat travel and base-level loads.
Costs and cash: depreciation bites, CASK up, liquidity improved
Total CASK rose 2.3% to 4.35 Euro cents. Ex-fuel CASK increased 2.1% to 2.94 Euro cents, driven by higher depreciation, airport and en-route charges. Fuel CASK was up 2.7% to 1.40 Euro cents as market prices rose and Wizz Air spent more on emissions and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Fuel expenses included €14 million for SAF-related obligations in the quarter.
Depreciation and amortisation jumped 28.9% to €300.1 million, reflecting capitalised maintenance on older A320ceo aircraft before return and a larger NEO fleet. Airport, handling and en-route charges climbed 21.8% to €380.3 million due to passenger growth and higher Eurocontrol rates. The bright spot was “Other income” at €119.2 million, up 83%, boosted by more sale-and-leaseback activity and higher supplier compensation. Flight disruption costs were lower, improving “Other expenses”.
Cash continues to build. Total cash reached €1,984.8 million, up 14.3% versus 31 March 2025, and the liquidity ratio improved to 33.6%. Net debt rose 4.8% to €5,196.0 million, but the leverage ratio eased to 4.0x from 4.4x at year end F25. Wizz Air repaid its €500 million bond in January 2026 and renewed its EMTN programme for three years.
- Fuel hedge coverage as at 22 January 2026: 83% for F26 at $681/$749 per tonne, 55% for F27 at $650/$716, and 7% for F28 at $628/$694.
- EUR/USD hedge coverage: 87% for F26 at 1.11/1.15, 59% for F27 at 1.14/1.18, 5% for F28 at 1.18/1.21.
- 80% of $4.3 billion USD lease liabilities hedged at an average EUR/USD rate of 1.12.
- EU ETS credits repurchase agreement balance: €282.1 million.
Engines and fleet: GTF disruption eases, youngest fleet among majors
Grounded aircraft due to GTF inspections fell to 33 from 40 a year earlier. Wizz Air expects average groundings of 30-35 aircraft through the end of F26, reducing to 20-25 by end of F27, assuming a 250-day engine shop turnaround. Around 100 spare engines are expected to support operations by summer 2026. OEM compensation from Pratt & Whitney continued.
Fleet growth is robust. In the quarter, Wizz Air took 16 A321neo and 3 A321neo XLR, redelivered 2 A320ceo, and ended with 257 aircraft. The average age is 4.5 years, the NEO share is 73%, and average seats per aircraft rose to 230. The firm orderbook stands at 262 aircraft (257 A321neo, 5 A321XLR). The company is discussing the transfer of 5 near-term A321XLR deliveries ahead of summer 2026.
CEE expansion and operational quality
Wizz Air’s CEE market share hit 26% in Q3, up 1.6 percentage points, cementing its position as the largest operator by seats. New routes were announced from a long list of CEE cities, plus more aircraft for Tirana and Warsaw. Strategic non-CEE bases in London, Rome and Milan are also set to grow on improving yields.
Customer satisfaction improved to 79.4%, up 2.7 percentage points year on year, and management highlighted strong reliability and punctuality. The company reiterated it could re-enter Ukraine within weeks of a ceasefire, security clearance and airspace reopening.
Guidance: flat unit revenue, modest cost inflation, near breakeven earnings
Full-year F26 capacity (ASKs) is set to grow around 10%, with seats up 11-12%. Load factor is expected to be flat year on year and finish north of 91%. Management sees unit revenue flat year on year and total CASK flat to up low-single digit, with ex-fuel CASK up mid-single digit and fuel CASK down mid-to-high single digits.
Net income guidance is a range of +€25 million to -€25 million. Bookings are ahead of last year on the forward curve. The moving parts to watch are Eurocontrol navigation cost inflation, maintenance costs linked to GTF shop visit uncertainty, and higher depreciation from the A320ceo retirement schedule.
My take: steady operational progress, but depreciation and charges keep the winter red
There is a clear throughline this quarter: Wizz Air is flying more, selling more, and running a tighter operation, but the accounting and regulatory cost stack is heavy. The operating loss widened largely because depreciation rose almost 29% and airport and en-route charges jumped 22%. If you strip that back to EBITDA, the margin improved to 13.6%.
On the positive side, CEE market share gains, high NEO penetration, and better on-time performance set Wizz Air up well for summer. The hedging book is sensible, net FX losses have normalised, cash is strong, and nine-month net profit is €184.2 million. The negative side is unit cost creep in ex-fuel, ancillary per passenger softness, and the fact GTF constraints will linger into F27, even if easing.
For shareholders, the guidance reads like a “hold the line” year: defend RASK, keep growing seats in core markets, and absorb cost inflation while engines work through the shops. Breakeven guidance keeps valuation anchored to summer execution and how
