Wizz Air Announces Leadership Changes As President Departs

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Summary

  • Robert Carey, the president of Wizz Air, will leave the airline, with the current chief executive officer (CEO), József Váradi, overseeing the airline’s commercial leadership responsibilities in the next months.
  • The airline has promoted three other executives, including Michael Delehant, Diarmuid O’Conghaile, and Mauro Peneda.
  • Váradi emphasized the priority to promote people within the airline, based on performance and merit.

Wizz Air has announced that several executives have received promotions as its president, Robert Carey, departed the company, with József Váradi, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Wizz Air, assuming commercial leadership responsibilities for the next three months.

The Hungary-based low-cost carrier announced that Michael Delehant, the current chief operating officer (COO), will become the senior chief commercial and operations officer of Wizz Air as of October 1, reporting directly to Váradi. Delehant joined the airline in 2021, becoming the group’s COO, with the executive previously working at Southwest Airlines and Vueling.

A Wizz Air A320 taking off.

Photo: Cristi Croitoru | Shutterstock

Diarmuid O’Conghaile, the Managing Director of Wizz Air Malta, will become the COO of Wizz Air, overseeing the group’s operational activities and performance and reporting to Delehant. O’Conghaile has served in multiple executive roles, including being the leader of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and the chief executive of Malta Air, a Ryanair Group company.

Mauro Peneda will replace O’Conghaile as the Managing Director of Wizz Air Malta, reporting to the latter on all matters related to the group’s subsidiary in Malta. Peneda joined Wizz Air two years ago after a nine-year stint at LATAM Airlines, with his most recent role being the director of airports of LATAM Brazil.

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Well-deserved career advancements

Váradi highlighted that the promotions have been well-deserved by the three executives, which underscored Wizz Air’s commitment to promoting within the airline, based on performance and merit. The CEO added that the executives’ leadership and contributions will continue driving Wizz Air’s success as the airline progresses toward achieving the goals of ‘WIZZ 500.’

Wizz Air aircraft at London Luton Airport LTN shutterstock_2266064931

Photo: Tupungato | Shutterstock

‘WIZZ 500’ was the company’s plan to grow to 500 aircraft by 2030, with the airline planning to carry 170 million passengers per year, earning at least €15 billion ($16.2 billion) in annual revenue by then. The strategy was underpinned by its Dubai Airshow aircraft order in November 2021.

At the time, Wizz Air signed an agreement with Airbus for a firm order of 102 Airbus A320neo family aircraft, namely 75 A321neo and 27 A321XLR, delivered mostly between 2025 and 2027. Certain circumstances would enable Wizz Air to purchase 19 more A321neos, with Airbus also granting the right to purchase an additional 75 A321neo aircraft for deliveries in 2028 and 2029.

“Despite strong demand for the aircraft, we have signed very attractive terms with Airbus for the long-term supply of more aircraft until the end of the decade, catapulting Wizz Air towards our aim of being a 500 aircraft group and putting us in an unassailable position when it comes to sustainability.”

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An order book of over 500 Airbus aircraft

In August 2023, Wizz Air affirmed the order for 75 A321neos, taking its total order book for the A321 to 434 and for all Airbus single-aisle aircraft to 565. At the time, the airline had more than 180 Airbus A320 family aircraft in its fleet, which included the current engine option (ceo) and new engine option (neo) jets.

Wizz Air Airbus A321 Taxiing Under Grey Skies

Photo: Wizz Air

When it published its financial year (FY) 2024 report in May, the airline detailed that it had 208 aircraft in its fleet and planned to operate 229 aircraft by the end of the next financial year, which will end in March 2025.

However, Wizz Air also detailed that as of May 17, it was forced to ground 47 aircraft due to the accelerated inspections and removals of the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine. The low-cost carrier expected that it would have to ground around 50 aircraft in H1 FY25, which ends in September.

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