Wizz Air grounds two Airbus A321XLRs for spare engines and slashes remaining orders
November 8, 2025
In a statement on Friday, Wizz Air confirmed that it would be adjusting its order book for the Airbus A321XLR. It has decided to significantly reduce its commitment for the type, converting the majority to the standard A321neo.
It has already taken delivery of 5 units. In a report by Italy’s Corriere della Sera, it emerged that the company has grounded two of them as part of an effort to source spare engines for its shorter-range A321neos. The company confirmed this information in a statement to the outlet.
A321XLRs cannibalised and grounded
The pair of A321XLRs grounded belong to the company’s Maltese subsidiary, Wizz Air Malta. Registered 9H-XLA and 9H-XLB, the two planes are reasonably new. They were delivered in July and October this year respectively. They have both been grounded at Bydgoszcz Airport in Poland.
Wizz Air Holdings Airbus A321XLR fleet
Overview of Wizz Air’s A321XLR ownership structure within the group.
| Airline | Registration | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Wizz Air Malta | 9H-XLA | Grounded in Poland, cannibalised for parts. |
| Wizz Air Malta | 9H-XLB | Grounded in Poland, cannibalised for parts. |
| Wizz Air UK | G-XLRA | Grounded in Prague after hard landing incident. |
| Wizz Air UK | G-XLRB | In service. |
| Wizz Air UK | G-XLRD | In Washington D.C. this week after flying Hungarian PM. |
Information from planespotters.net, correct as of 8 November 2025
The company confirmed to Corriere that the engines on the aircraft were being used to power its standard A321neos for the winter season. “This temporary measure allows us to manage challenges related to the global supply chain, staying faithful at the same time to our Customer First Compass initiative, that aims to continuously improve the passenger experience,” the airline said in its statement.
Companies worldwide are having to ground their A320neo family, A220 and Embraer E2 fleets due to required maintenance and inspections on their Pratt & Whitney engines. SWISS announced it would ground its A220-100 fleet to use the engines and spare parts to maintain its larger A220-300s.
The remaining three aircraft were delivered to its British subsidiary, Wizz Air UK.
One of them has been in Prague since September after a hard landing incident. On 11 September, G-XLRA was operating a scheduled service between London Gatwick and Prague Václav Havel Airport. On landing shortly before 14:00, the rear end of the plane’s fuselage came into contact with the runway after the nose pitched steeply upwards.
Only two remain in service, flying between London Gatwick and Jeddah, Medina, and Prague. One was also used this week to fly Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orbán to Washington D.C.
Wizz Air reduces its A321XLR orderbook
In a filing on Friday, Wizz Air said that it would be revising its delivery agreement with Airbus concerning its remaining A321XLRs. Its overall commitment reduces from 47 to 11, which includes the five already delivered. In other words, it only expects six more. 36 will be switched to the standard A321neo.
The planes are expected to better suit the carrier’s needs as it makes changes across its business units. In September, it closed down its Wizz Air Abu Dhabi subsidiary after just under five years in service.
It could also suggest cost savings, though this is not clear. According to data from Cirium, an A321neo’s full-life market value is roughly £7.2 million less than an A321XLR.
It has also adjusted the delivery schedule. It had initially expected 88 Airbus planes to be delivered by fiscal 2030 and has now pushed this deadline to fiscal year 2033.
“These amendments support the airline’s target of achieving a 10-12% seat capacity growth rate through 2030,” the carrier said in a statement. It added that by 2029, all of its aircraft should be the A320neo family variants.
Featured image: Airbus
