 |
| Photo Wizz Air |
The team at one of Europe’s fastest growing airlines are celebrating after snagging two top accolades at the CESAAR awards.
Wizz Air was named 2018 The Best Low-Cost Airline of the Year in CEE region and was given the Best Cabin Crew award by the Central and Eastern European passengers. The CESAAR awards were handed over at the ceremonial gala in Poznan.
The awards, which are among the most important and prestigious prizes of the aviation industry in the CEE region, is a recognition of Wizz Air's excellent performance, superior service and strong network expansion.
The airline’s outstanding year was also recognized on an individual level: Jรณzsef Vรกradi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wizz Air was named the „Manager of the Year in CEE” by a jury comprised of industry experts and media representatives.
In 2018, over 9 million passengers travelled with WIZZ on its low-fare Polish routes, 14% growth year on year. In 2019, Wizz Air has 27 aircraft based in Poland, employing over 1,000 customer-oriented crew at five operational bases including Warsaw, Katowice, Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw and from 1 May Krakow. The airline also offers low-fare flights from Szczecin, Olsztyn Mazury and Lublin. An outstanding event of the year will be the opening of the newest WIZZ Polish base in Krakow in May 2019. The airline’s Polish operations do not only provide affordable travel opportunities between Poland and the rest of Europe but also stimulate the local job market in aviation and tourism sectors, supporting more than 8,000 jobs this year in associated industries throughout the country. The Polish WIZZ network now consists of 169 routes to 28 countries.
Stephen Jones, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of Wizz Air, said: "We are proud to have been recognized as The Best Low-Cost Airline as well as the airline with the Best Cabin Crew by our loyal Central and Eastern European customers. 2018 was our best year ever in Poland: we carried more than 9 million passengers, launched 25 low-fare routes, and employed over 1,000 local crew in our dedicated team. With nearly 11 million seats on sale we will bring even more opportunities to our Polish customers in 2019 while continuing to develop our always-growing network throughout Europe and beyond. We stay committed to Poland and the region and keep on offering the lowest possible fares, which are always paired with an excellent service. Our friendly crew looks forward to welcoming you on board one of our young and modern aircraft!”
Paweล Cybulak, CEO of CEESAR AWARDS and chief editor of pasazer.com: “For the 15th time, we choose the best airlines, this time not only in the Polish sky but in Central Europe. In this edition of the plebiscite passengers from Central and Eastern Europe awarded the best carriers with "aviation CEESARs. The ranking is based on opinions of passengers who have verified their flight. Thanks to the cooperation with the partners operating on CEE markets, it is possible to reach a selected group of passengers who have actually travelled on board of specific airlines. As one of few organizations, we carry out the verification of assessments based on the opinions of people who really took a flight. This affects the particular credibility and, consequently, the high impact of the awarded prizes. Our annual plebiscite, this year called “The CEESAR Awards", is the most important plebiscite with prizes for the aviation industry since 2004. This truly reflects the real opinion of verified customers, now extended to CEE region passengers. Both the number of nearly 40 thousand verified votes and the presence of the sector’s most influential stakeholders at the Poznan’s gala underlines the importance of the voting and the event, which provides not only a moment of recognition for the best, but also an opportunity for all participants to meet with competitors and business partners in a unique environment. I would hereby like to congratulate Wizz Air on winning the 1st place award as the Best Low-Cost Airline in CEE region in 2018, 1st place for the best cabin crew in CEE and underline that the industry appreciates Wizz Air’s activities and its managers”
The carrier also announced this week that it was further developing its newest base in Krakow, Poland. The airline will allocate the second Airbus A321aircraft to the Krakow base on 1st August, one and a half months ahead of the originally planned mid-September, while an additional – the third –Airbus A321 aircraft will join the Krakow fleet already in September 2019. The new Airbus A321 aircraft will support the operations of six new routes to Turin, Rome-Fiumicino, Tel Aviv, Eindhoven, Birmingham and Keflavรญk.
Jones said the "Announcement underlines our long term commitment to Krakow and Poland, our Polish customers and our desire to offer more and more low-cost travel opportunities to our distinguished Polish passengers. 2019 is a year we are very much looking forward to as we are entering the Krakow market and rapidly developing our local presence and route network as well as steadily expanding our Polish operations which now offers 169 low-cost routes to 28 countries. We are sure that our Polish customers will love the convenient schedule of our new flights, the easy online booking system at wizzair.com and the wide selection of options to tailor-make the travel experience to each traveller’s needs."
.
