Wizz Air launches to hire pilots and cabin crew at the height of the pandemic.

The crisis generated by the coronavirus has caused the air sector to slow down. Since the first cases were detected in Europe, the airlines have suffered a cascade of cancellations and paralysis of their fleet, which has led the large companies to cancel their selection processes for new personnel, including pilots, as is the case with Iberia and Lufthansa. This situation is far from the reality experienced by the low-cost Wizz Air, which flies against the tide of the rest, after embarking on the recruitment of pilots in the midst of the pandemic.

This is reflected in the airline’s website, which has opened the selection process for cabin crew, office staff and pilots. The reason? The expansion of new routes, three of them in Spain that will connect Madrid, Tenerife and Barcelona with Poland, with a forecast of 136,000 passengers a year. The airline is increasing its national network and will offer a total of 61 routes to 10 countries from 12 Spanish airports by 2020.

Wizz Air is looking for direct entry captains and has ordered 30 aircraft from the European manufacturer Airbus, increasing its fleet by 25%, following the opening of new bases in Albania, Cyprus, Germany, Ukraine, Romania and Russia. The ‘low-cost’ has a fleet of 122 aircraft flying on more than 710 routes to a total of 45 countries, which could be multiplied by 2021.

Some of the requirements demanded by the airline are an airline pilot’s license (ATPL) validated by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), a minimum of 3,500 hours and the unrestricted right to live and work in the European Union (EU), among others.

A strong financial position

Not only has the reopening of the pilot selection process been a surprise, but also the quarterly results. In the first three months of its fiscal year, the airline has registered ‘only’ a loss of 56.7 million euros against the 122.186 million that were calculated.

“Wizz Air maintains strong market positions and liquidity after the first quarter, a period that marks one of the most difficult times in the history of aviation,” said József Váradi, CEO of Wizz Air. He explained that “revenue per available seat kilometer increased by 14% due to the strategic management of the company, as well as an underlying strength in the performance of ancillary revenues”.

For Metagestión’s investment manager, Alfonso Batalla, the figures show that “the company is efficient in adapting to periods of crisis in the sector and that its cost-saving programme is paying off”. Batalla highlights “the solid financial position of the company at the end of the quarter, with liquidity of 1,600 million euros”.

By Andrea Aguado Robles – Ok Diario

Photo: Markus Eigenheer / Wikimedia