Wizz Air Holdings Plc reached a compensation agreement with supplier Pratt & Whitney over engine issues that have grounded dozens of planes and stymied growth at the budget carrier.
The compensation covers direct costs tied to the groundings and operational support, and lasts through the end of 2026, Wizz said on Tuesday in a statement. Through March of that year, the airline expects at least 40 planes at a time to be held out of its fleet for inspections and potential repairs to powder-metal coatings in engines made by Pratt.
The manufacturing fault on geared turbofan engines has thrown Wizz’s rapid expansion off course since the problem was disclosed by Pratt’s parent, RTX Corp, in mid-2023.
Wizz said it expects to return to growth in the fiscal year that starts in March, increasing passenger capacity 20% by adding 50 new Airbus A321neo aircraft to its fleet.
The shares of the Hungarian carrier rose as much as 1.3% in London trading on Wednesday, and have fallen about 36% this year.
The engine issues have affected Airbus customers that rely on Pratt’s geared-turbofan, one of two engine choices on the latest A320-series planes.
Wizz rival EasyJet Plc, which also operates Airbus narrowbodies, uses engines from General Electric Co and hasn’t been affected.
Ryanair Holdings Plc, the largest European discount carrier, uses Boeing Co jets. Its growth has been hampered by manufacturing issues at the US planemaker that have slowed deliveries.
A Wizz Air passenger aircraft at Liszt Ferenc airport in Budapest. Wizz Air reached a compensation agreement with supplier Pratt & Whitney over engine issues that have grounded dozens of planes and stymied growth at the budget carrier.
