Wizz Air Acquires Monarch Slots At Luton

European budget carrier Wizz Air announced a further expansion at London’s Luton Airport after it acquired take-off and landing slots from the administrators of failed airline Monarch.

The airline will base another two Airbus A320-family aircraft at Luton, expanding its capacity by 18 percent to a total of 7.1 million seats in 2018.

“Acquiring airport slots and airport nightstands at Luton Airport will enable us to enhance our presence and competitive position in the London market,” Wizz’s chief executive József Váradi said.

“While BREXIT will certainly pose challenges to the airline industry, we see it as an opportunity for Wizz Air, as our highly efficient low fare model will prevail even more under the new circumstances,” he added.

The Budapest-based airline announced an increase of its Luton fleet to five aircraft only last week, adding five new routes in 2018. The latest announcement is additional to that expansion.

Wizz Air operates a fleet of 87 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft on 550 routes across 43 countries.