On May 19, 2004, a Budapest-based, American-funded start-up referred to as Wizz Air flew its maiden flight from Katowice in Poland to Luton. Over the subsequent 19 years the airline grew to become the epitome of the ultra-low-cost service, providing low-cost tickets and stripped-to-the-bone service on the tightest-packed Airbus A320s within the European skies. The joke in Poland was that Wizz Air operated essentially the most uncomfortable bus at the airport.
Its marketing strategy — pile ’em excessive, promote ’em low-cost, cost for the whole lot from airport check-in to seat choice and carry-on baggage — underpinned by a “relentless focus on costs” made Wizz Air Europe’s third-largest price range airline after Ryanair and easyJet.
But there’s one other facet to its speedy enlargement. The Sunday Times has learnt that Wizz Air nonetheless owes
