Wizz Buys Norwegian Slots at Gatwick to Boost U.K. Business

(Bloomberg) -- Discount carrier Wizz Air Holdings Plc will increase its presence in the U.K. after agreeing to buy takeoff and landing slots from Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA at London’s Gatwick hub.

Budapest-based Wizz will acquire 15 daily slot pairs at Gatwick, where operations are restricted by a single runway, allowing it to increase its number of jets there from four to five, according to a statement on Wednesday. While no sale value for the slots was given, DNB Bank ASA estimates that they are worth 300 million-400 million Norwegian krone ($34 million-$45 million) at current prices. 

The selling price was likely in line with that estimate, analyst Ole Martin Westgaard said in a note. The slots may have been worth almost 10 times that amount before the coronavirus pandemic upended air travel, according to DNB.

Norwegian Air said earlier it sold the excess slots at the London airport following a decision earlier this year to exit long-haul flying. The slots could have been taken away without compensation had they not been offloaded, the carrier said in a statement.

Wizz shares were little changed as of 9:57 a.m. in London, and have declined by 7.4% so far this year.  

Boosting flights in Britain will bring Wizz a bigger share of Europe’s largest low-cost aviation market and help it take on rivals EasyJet Plc, which counts Gatwick as its biggest base, and Ryanair Holdings Plc. Wizz Chief Executive Officer Jozsef Varadi has been demanding that the U.K. return to rules compelling airlines to surrender slots unless they utilize 80% of them after the requirement was watered down at the height of the coronavirus crisis.

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. has also halted long-haul flights at Gatwick while retaining slots. IAG SA’s British Airways mothballed short-haul routes but plans to gear up services again next summer with a revamped operation.

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