Appointment of Executive VP & Deputy CEO

RNS Number : 4702L

Wizz Air Holdings PLC

19 July 2017

 

APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

LSE: WIZZ

Geneva, 19 July 2017: Wizz Air Holdings Plc (the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, "Wizz Air"), the largest low cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, announces that it has appointed Stephen Jones as Wizz Air's Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive Officer.  Mr. Jones will take up his appointment during the latter part of 2017.  As Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jones will report to the Company's Chief Executive Officer and be a member of the Company's executive team.  He will be responsible for Wizz Air's commercial, marketing and information technology organizations with the Company's Chief Commercial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Information Technology as direct reports, as well as being an important part of the Board's succession planning.

Mr Jones, who is a national of both New Zealand and the United Kingdom, has been the Chief Strategy, Network and Alliances Officer at Air New Zealand since 2013 during which time he was responsible for the airline's overall corporate strategy, network development, alliances and sustainability.  He oversaw the airline's tightly cost-managed response to significant domestic competition from low cost carriers as well as the turnaround of the airline's international business in the face of severe competition from many Asian, Middle Eastern and low cost carriers in the trans-Tasman market, one of the most competitive markets in the world. 

Prior to this role, Mr Jones held a number of other roles in Air New Zealand since he joined the airline in 2001, including general manager of their low cost carrier Freedom Air, general manager of the airline's domestic business unit and Tasman and Pacific Islands business unit as well as general manager of investor relations and financial planning, following the airline's recapitalization in 2003.  He also currently serves as Chairman of the Star Alliance Management Board and the Star Alliance Strategy Committee.

Commenting on Mr. Jones' appointment, József Váradi, Wizz Air's Chief Executive Officer, said:

"We are delighted to be welcoming Stephen Jones as Wizz Air's Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Executive Officer.  Stephen's extensive and successful experience in numerous areas of airline management over many years will bring significant extra capacity to the company's Leadership Team, as it continues to drive Wizz Air's growth at a market-leading rate while at the same time remaining focused on delivering a great customer experience, maintaining our ultra-low cost base to become the undisputed cost leader among European airlines and continuing to deliver one of the best profit margins in the industry."

ABOUT WIZZ AIR

Wizz Air is the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe, operates a fleet of 84 Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircraft, and offers more than 500 routes from 28 bases, connecting 142 destinations across 43 countries. At Wizz Air, a team of approximately 3,300 aviation professionals delivers superior service and very low ticket prices making Wizz Air the preferred choice of 23.8 million passengers in the financial year ended 31 March 2017. Wizz Air is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker WIZZ and is included in the FTSE 250 and FTSE All-Share Indices. Wizz Air is registered under the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), the global benchmark in airline safety recognition. The company was recently named 2016 Value Airline of the Year by the editors of Air Transport World, one of the leading airline trade magazines, as well as 2016 Low Cost Airline of the Year by the Center for Aviation (CAPA), a leading provider of independent aviation market intelligence.

For more information:
Investors:	Iain Wetherall, Wizz Air:	[phone]
	Balint Veres, Wizz Air:	[phone]
Media:	Tamara Vallois, Wizz Air:	[phone]
	Edward Bridges / Jonathan Neilan, FTI Consulting LLP:	[phone]

 

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