Wizz Air seeks customers for proposed Airbus A321XLR World Cup charter flights
Wizz Air is actively seeking customers for its proposed Airbus A321XLR charter services to the United States during this summer’s football World Cup.
The move is part of an effort by the carrier to make use of its extended range narrowbody amid a wider reassessment of the aircraft’s role within its network strategy.
Speaking at the Routes Europe event in Rimini, Italy, chief commercial officer Ian Malin said the airline planned to use the extra-long-range narrow body for charter flights to North America from June, when the sporting event kicks off.
The carrier is appealing for customers to take it up on its offer to fly them across the Atlantic, with the first match less than three weeks away.
Malin’s comments suggest interest in the World Cup charters has been slow to materialise, with no publicly confirmed flights and demand more generally for travel to the US-hosted spotting event said to have been much lower than the hospitality industry had hoped or expected.
Malin revealed at the event that Wizz was pivoting away from the A321XLR because the extra range it offered conflicted with the ultra-low-cost model of high aircraft utilisation and maximising ancillary revenues.
That reality has forced Wizz to get creative with its existing fleet of XLR, of which it has 11 across its entire operation (its UK division currently has three A321XLRs).
Wizz Air seeks US charter customers for its A321XLR fleet
Wizz Air has made it clear it has no intention or plans to launch regular commercial flights to the US, but Malin said the airline was currently looking for transatlantic charter customers.
“There are applications where the XLR works, and charters are a good example of that, ” he said.
“If anybody wants to go to the World Cup this summer in the US, we’ve got the permit, which is a big step in the right direction, and we’ve got a desk that’s happy to quote you, so if you want to get a bunch of your friends together, we’re happy to take you to the football matches.”
Wizz Air UK was granted approval in the spring, and is targeting charter flights at both European football teams and supporters travelling to the World Cup, as well as tour operators organising group travel to the US.
According to its application made in January, Wizz Air UK intends to make use of the 2020 UK-US Open Skies Agreement, which permits airlines from either country to apply for traffic rights without restrictions on capacity or frequency.
The filing, submitted on 23 January 2026 by London-based law firm Holland and White, requests both an exemption and a foreign air carrier permit, allowing Wizz Air UK to operate scheduled and charter air transport services for passengers, property, and mail on transatlantic routes.
Finding new ways to use the A321XLR
Wizz Air UK is seeking routes that can exploit the A321XLR’s extended range while adhering to its guiding principles as a ULCC.
The airline currently deploys the type on services from London Gatwick to Medina and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
From the UK, the A321XLR would allow non-stop service to much of the continental United States.
The aircraft is already in service on transatlantic routes with carriers including Aer Lingus and Iberia.
Featured image: João Macedo / stock.adobe.com
