It is understood that the ongoing Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic than the need for an arival quarantine period of 14 days has already caused the carried to delay the start of operations. In May 2020 the group established Wizz Air Abu Dhabi LLC, an airline company in the United Arab Emirates as a subsidiary of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi Limited.
The airline will base two brand new, state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo aircraft in Abu Dhabi, initially with a further four Airbus A321neo aircraft joining the base during the first 6 months of operations.
Previously, Jรณzsef Vรกradi, Wizz Air's Chief Executive Officer said: "We are dedicated to developing our presence in Abu Dhabi, contributing to Abu Dhabi's economic diversity strategy while offering ever more affordable travel opportunities on our low fare network. We much appreciate the support we have been given by the government, its affiliated organizations and our local business partners in Abu Dhabi.
Our state-of-the-art Airbus A321neo aircraft will ensure the best possible sanitary conditions for travellers. Wizz Air is the lowest cost producer operating the youngest and economically most efficient fleet of aircraft with the lowest environmental footprint. I'm confident Wizz Air will make a profound impact on the United Arab Emirates' economic development."
Shareef Al Hashmi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Airports, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to Abu Dhabi International Airport. With the addition of the new airline, the number of destinations and connections passengers are able to access through Abu Dhabi continues to grow, demonstrating our commitment to enhancing our network and placing our customers first."
Wizz Air has external borrowings of €26.6 million and the CCFF fund of £300.0 million, a further €2,094.2 million borrowings are in relation to future leasing contracts.
And Wizz Air has a commitment to purchase 257 Airbus aircraft of the A320 family in the period 2020-2026. Of the 257 aircraft 237 relate to the "neo" version of the A320 family (91 from the purchase orders placed in June 2015 and 146 from the purchase order placed in November 2017), while the remaining 20 relate to the "neo XLR" version (from the purchase order placed in June 2019). The total commitment is valued at US$32.1 billion (€27.5 billion) at list prices in 2018 US Dollar terms (as at 31 March 2020: US$33.5 billion (€30.5 billion), valued at 2018 list prices). As at the date of approval of this document 29 of the 257 aircraft are covered by sale and leaseback agreements. Three aircraft are to be delivered in December 2020, 24 aircraft in CY2021; and two aircraft in CY2022.
There is also a commitment to purchase 36 IAE "neo" (GTF) spare aircraft engines in the period 2020-2026. In July 2016 the Group entered into an engine selection agreement with Pratt & Whitney that, among other matters, included a commitment for the Group to purchase 16 spare engines (of which five were received in the 2019 financial year). In September 2019 the Group restated and amended this engine selection agreement with certain other commitments including a purchase of additional 25 spare engines until 2026. The total commitment is valued at US$569.1 million (€486.0 million) at list prices in 2020 US Dollar term (as at 31 March 2020: US$569.1 million (€518.4 million), valued at 2020 list prices). As at the date of approval of this document the 36 engines are not yet financed. Only a few of these 36 engines will be delivered in the 2021 financial year.
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