Wizz Air announces ten new fuel saving initiatives

Wizz Air, Europe’s fastest growing and greenest airline*, has announced ten new fuel saving initiatives as part of its continued commitment to cut carbon emissions by a further 33% by 2030. In addition to the airline’s 25 fuel saving initiatives implemented in the past years, Wizz Air is focusing on new solutions, such as developing a model for estimating zero fuel weight, removal of unnecessary extra fuel thanks to optimisations in our flight planning system and the introduction of more precise performance factors for a higher accuracy in fuel burn prediction. Further operational optimisations in flap configuration will also be an ongoing focal point, with Wizz Air currently being an industry frontrunner in the use of reduced flaps for landing.

In a drive to improve fuel burn efficiency, Wizz Air has introduced recommendations to pilots to encourage the use of reduced flap configurations for both take-off and landing, which has been shown to result in considerable savings in fuel consumption. This is because the lower the flap setting during ascent and descent, the lower the drag, which results in less fuel burnt. Statistics on reduced flap landings are promising, with an estimated 2,000 tonnes of fuel saved, eliminating approximately 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the air.

In a recent analysis of flight data performed by Airbus, Wizz Air was leading the industry in terms of reduced flap configuration for landings compared to other airlines. Taking into account flight conditions and safety margins, reducing flaps for landing use saves around 15kg of fuel per approach. Over a year, this would mean creating savings of carbon dioxide equivalent to 92,300 cars driving from London to Edinburgh [please replace with cities from your countries. That should two cities which are 500 km away from each other]

Alongside Wizz Air’s numerous fuel-saving initiatives, the airline is committed to developing its fleet with the state-of-the-art Airbus neo aircraft family which offer unbeatable fuel efficiency and great aerodynamics, and are equipped with sharklets to further reduce interference drag at the wing. The neo aircraft have 43% less noise emission 50% less NOX emission. The airline’s current fleet has an average age of 5 years, making it one of the youngest airline fleets in the world. This, paired with a network design which avoids unnecessary connecting flights and the lightest materials used in the cabin, is what makes Wizz Air’s operations so efficient. Thanks to this and much more initiatives Wizz Air is the greenest airline in Europe.

Heiko Holm, Chief Operations Officer at Wizz Air said: ‘We are proud to have the lowest CO2 emissions per passenger / kilometre amongst European airlines, and are committed to reducing our environmental footprint further. Every take-off and landing is an opportunity to save fuel, every flight phase is being reviewed for the smallest optimization, the impact it has on carbon emissions is significant. Together with our modern fleet and maximisation of passenger load factor, we are ensuring that WIZZ, the greenest airline in Europe, is the best choice passengers can make when they fly.’

*Wizz Air’s carbon-dioxide emissions were the lowest among European airlines in FY2019 (57.2 gr/km/passenger)