European narrowbody aircraft deliveries to surge. Wizz Air joins in with an order for 110 A321neos

At the Paris Airshow, Wizz Air signed a MoU with Airbus for the purchase of 110 Airbus A321neo aircraft, with deliveries to start in 2019, and uncommitted purchase rights over an additional 90 A321neo aircraft. The order is subject to a final purchase agreement and approval by the shareholders of Wizz Air, which listed on the London Stock Exchange earlier this year.

Such approval is typically forthcoming and the new aircraft should provide significant unit cost improvements. Nevertheless, Wizz Air's order is very large compared with its size today and follows large orders for narrow body aircraft in recent years for other leading European LCCs, including Ryanair, easyJet, Norwegian and Vueling (the latter as part of an IAG group order).

Norwegian has admitted that it may not be able to use all of its planned aircraft and Wizz Air's order now provides an opportunity to review the data on the number, and types, of narrow bodies on order in Europe. Narrowbody deliveries to Europe look set to rise, at a time of rising global deliveries. Success is not guaranteed for all. Meanwhile the expanding role of LCCs in both leisure and business markets continues to undermine the positions of legacy airlines on short haul routes.