Following the closure of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Wizz Air is struggling to find a business case for its Airbus A321XLRs, meaning they are now being deployed as standard neos.
During a keynote interview at Routes Europe in Rimini, Wizz Air Group CCO Ian Malin said Wizz Air Abu Dhabi was set to be the “launching point” for longer routes using the XLRs. However, the joint venture with Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ halted operations in September 2025, nearly five years after its January 2021 launch.
“Once we got out of Abu Dhabi, with no longer having a base there…we found that that it [the XLR] didn't fit with our business model,” Malin said.
In November 2025 – two months after the closure - Wizz detailed plans to convert 36 of its 47 A321XLRs on order to A321neos. That leaves Wizz with only 11 A321XLRs on order, of which six have been delivered. The final five are slated for delivery this year.
“There's nothing wrong with the aircraft. The aircraft is terrific,” Malin said.
Wizz Air’s XLRs are leased and configured in a high-density 239-seat layout. Malin said this lack of “premiumization” limits potential routes from continental Europe. Wizz is cautious about the Middle East, and other options to the east trigger airspace and access issues.
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North Africa can be reached with neos – these routes do not need XLR range - and West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa come with the same type of complexity that caused Wizz Air to withdraw from the Abu Dhabi JV. Wizz Air has been “very, very clear” about not wanting to start scheduled US flights.
“We’ll operate them as neos, and we’re not even going to demark them in the system as XLRs. They’re neos,” Malin said.
Wizz previously said it was in talks to transfer up to five Airbus A321XLRs to another operator for summer 2026, but Malin said they will remain part of the Wizz Air fleet. The extra range could occasionally prove useful for “fringe” longer routes, diversions and airspace closures.
“If some opportunity comes up that means we can make more money operating them in a different mission, without creating complexity and distraction, then we'll look at it, but for now, they're just going to be neos.”
In total, Wizz Air operates a fleet of 264 Airbus aircraft, of which 75% – roughly 200 aircraft - are neos. Around 30 neos remain grounded because of Pratt & Whitney GTF engine issues, but Malin said Wizz is has an internal target to get the whole fleet “unparked” by 2027. By 2028-2029, Wizz will be an all-neo operator.
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