UPDATE 1-European budget airline Wizz upbeat on summer demand, jet fuel supply

Varadi said ⁠Wizz Air was 70% hedged for its fuel needs for the summer period ​and would receive 35 new Airbus aircraft during 2026.

​Wizz Air's CEO said on ‌Monday the ​European budget airline's summer schedule would be 17% larger this year, with growth focused ‌on the Balkan and Caucasus markets, despite concerns over jet fuel supply and costs tied to the Iran war. "We are much stronger on summer bookings ‌this year than last year," Jozsef Varadi told reporters at a ‌briefing, after some airlines like easyJet and TUI announced drops in forward bookings and issued profit warnings in recent weeks.

European airlines are entering their first-quarter reporting season, with ⁠analysts ​uncertain about longer-term ⁠outlooks as jet fuel hedges start running out in the coming months. Varadi said ⁠Wizz Air was 70% hedged for its fuel needs for the summer period ​and would receive 35 new Airbus aircraft during 2026. The Hungarian-based ⁠airline was set to renew some of its hedges when they run out this ⁠summer ​in order to protect it against price volatility, he added. At a price of $1,500 a metric ton for jet fuel, tankers ⁠were incentivised to head to the U.S. to collect it, Varadi said, which made ⁠up for ⁠shortfalls from the Middle East, a major source of jet fuel for European carriers.