Skift Take
Vararadi seems to follow Baldanza’s example for Ultra-Low Cost Carrier success with Spirit to the letter, creating new flyers with little more than low fares and a smile.
Speaking at the World Low Cost Airlines Congress in London, Wizz Air, CEO Joszef Varadi, explained why in the long-run, for the short-haul market, maintaining low costs and low fares is key to the survival of an airline.
“Cost is critical,” Varadi said. “This is a business which is becoming a commodity. Short-haul flying is a commodity. This is like the Wall-Marts, the Aldis in the UK. That's my background, the business I came from. If that's the case the business must remain focused on costs because otherwise you will have a problem sooner or later.”
A Smile Does Not Cost Money
Varadi believes Wizz Air’s ultra low-cost model should be flyer friendly, but it mustn’t be wasteful.
“We have always said that a smile does not cost money, and we have always approached the customer experience side of the business in a positive way. We don't have to make the corrections that Ryanair has recently been making,” Varadi said. “We remain focused on the customer experience.”
But the customer experience improvements must come from personal attention and fro
