Airlines
Wizz Air Proves “Cash is King”
Privately owned Wizz Air carries some two to three years’ worth of liquidity.
A WizzAir Airbus A320 takes off from Budapest in 2015. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY) by Sony SLT-A57)
A WizzAir Airbus A320 takes off from Budapest in 2015. (Photo: Flickr: Creative Commons (BY) by Sony SLT-A57)

To privately-owned Hungarian airline Wizz Air, “cash is king,” as CEO Jozsef Varadi quipped during a Wednesday FIA Connect Spotlight Session. Carrying enough liquidity to last it years rather than months during the Covid crisis, the LCC’s management believes in cash preservation precisely for lean times such as these. The airline hasn’t enjoyed the kind of government support many flag carriers have received, leaving it with little choice but to rely on its own resources to survive the Covid pandemic.