Wizz Air in Washington: Hungarian PM Orbán flies on Airbus A321XLR to meet President Trump
November 6, 2025
Wizz Air’s pink and purple aircraft are a familiar sight at airports around Europe and even into the Middle East, but the airline doesn’t fly anywhere in the Americas. Today, however, planespotters in Washington may catch a glimpse of the low-cost carrier’s aircraft as its Airbus A321XLR transports Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to meet President Donald Trump at the White House.
The Hungarian Air Force has its own VIP aircraft – a pair of Dassault Falcon 7X business jets – which are regularly used by Orbán for travel. However, his delegation heading to the United States is apparently so large that the Falcon has been sidelined in favour of an all-economy Wizz Air Airbus A321XLR with 239 seats.
According to Hungary Today, the delegation includes several government officials, executives of large companies, journalists, and heads of research institutes.
Wizz Air ordered 47 Airbus A321XLRs, taking delivery of the first in May this year. It has since slashed its order to just 10 or 15 of the type as it struggled to gain traction in Abu Dhabi and moves to refocus on core European routes.
Orbán’s Wizz Air A321XLR flight
To date, Wizz Air has taken delivery of five Airbus A321XLRs, three of which are registered in the UK and two in Malta. G-XLRA, its first XLR, has been grounded in Prague since 11 September, when it suffered a serious tail strike after a hard landing at the airport.
The aircraft transporting Prime Minister Orbán is its newest XLR, delivered just three weeks ago. The aircraft, registered G-XLRD, usually flies from London to Jeddah and Medina.
Today, it took off from Budapest at just after 08:30, operating under flight number W99001. It is due to arrive in Reykjavik at 11:30 local time, where it will refuel before leaving for Washington’s Dulles International Airport at around 13:00.
It’s due to touch down in Dulles just before 15:00 local time, ahead of Trump’s meeting with the PM tomorrow, 7 November.
Why is Wizz Air making a fuel stop on route to Washington?
The great circle distance between Budapest and Washington is around 4,000 nautical miles, well within the published range of the A321XLR, advertised at 4,700 nautical miles. Indeed, Iberia uses the XLR for its Madrid to Washington nonstop route, which is a similar distance.
However, this published range is contingent on several factors, including favourable flight conditions and a typical airline passenger load.
Flights from Europe to North America face prevailing jet-stream headwinds that can add 300–500 nmi of effective range penalty. That alone can turn a 4,000-nmi sector into the equivalent of 4,400–4,600 nmi. The XLR could theoretically make it, but only under ideal conditions, and without leaving much margin for diversion or holding fuel.
Routing across the North Atlantic Tracks can add distance beyond the great circle figure, and this, combined with a potentially heavy load of equipment for the delegates, could push the A321XLR right to the limits of its range.
Not wanting to risk arriving in the USA with low fuel, Wizz Air’s decision to stop in Iceland is prudent. This safe mid-Atlantic checkpoint will give the crew a chance to rest and allow for weather checks before embarking on the final leg of the journey.
The return flight, however, with its more favourable tailwinds, could well be operated nonstop.
Discover more: Why flying east is faster than flying west
