Wizz Air CEO József Váradi, right, at Routes World 2026.
FRANKFURT—Wizz Air is 85% hedged for the next six months and 50% hedged for summer 2026, which CEO József Váradi sees as “a huge competitive advantage.”
Speaking at Routes World 2026 in Frankfurt, Váradi said fuel prices are beginning to bite, but the ultra-low-cost carrier is in a stronger position than some of its unhedged competitors.
Wizz is 85% hedged at $800 a metric ton through spring 2026, compared with a spot price of $1,500. And for summer 2027, Wizz is 50% hedged at $900 per metric ton.
“I’m actually paying half the fuel price versus some of the guys who are completely naked and have no hedge protection,” Váradi said. “If this conflict in the Middle East keeps going on for another year, I’m going to be gaining a huge competitive advantage. Everyone else is going to shrink and increase fares.”
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Váradi sees a market expectation that this is a fuel spike, which will quickly normalize once tensions de-escalate.
“If I look geopolitically at how the situation has been moving, it’s more of an escalation than a calm-down,” he noted. “My personal expectation is that this situation in the Middle East will go on for some time.”
Wizz is responding by taking longer-term hedges, beyond the spike, on a continuous basis. “We are hedging long term,” Váradi added. “The bet I’m making is that this is a prolonged conflict. But if the conflict gets stopped tomorrow and all of a sudden fuel price collapse, then I may have to pay a premium. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Váradi said this summer “started slow” because of the situation in the Middle East but picked up “very nicely.”
“We are seeing more and more revenue strength coming through the market,” he said.
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