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Wizz Air Abu DhabiWizz Air, a joint venture with state-owned Abu Dhabi Development Holdings, has just launched a new route to the Maldives. However, this is a lot longer than you might think…
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi launches new route to Maldives
On Tuesday, 4th October 2022, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has launched a new service between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Male (MLE). The route is operated by Airbus A321neo and the schedule is as follows:
5W7105 Abu Dhabi to Male 1:30pm departure 7:50pm arrival
5W7106 Male to Abu Dhabi, departs 8:45pm, arrives 1:35am (+1 day)
The 1,876-mile flight was blocked at 5 hours 20 minutes from Abu Dhabi and 5 hours 50 minutes to Abu Dhabi. It takes a long time to cover that distance, and if you look at the flight path, you can see why.
For example, below is the map maiden voyage return From the Maldives to Abu Dhabi, the air layover was 5 hours and 17 minutes. The plane ended up flying the actual distance of 2,611 miles, nearly 40 percent more than the direct distance.
In contrast, Etihad Airways also run this route 4 hours 15 minutes from Abu Dhabi and 3 hours 55 minutes to Abu Dhabi by Boeing 787-9. Flights to Abu Dhabi are typically in the air for 3 hours and 30 minutes and typically cover a little over 1,900 miles, just 1% more than the direct air distance between airports.
Why did Wizz Air take this route to the Maldives?
As you might have guessed based on the map above, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s flights are much longer, as the airline doesn’t fly direct(ish) between the two airports, but instead stays close to land. Departing the Maldives, Wizz Air flies along the coasts of India and Pakistan, then over the Gulf of Oman, then over Oman, and finally arrives in Abu Dhabi.
This comes down to Wizz Air’s Airbus A321neos not having ETOPS certification. ETOPS stands for “Extended Range Twin Engine Operating Performance Standard”. This is the certification an airline needs to be able to fly over large expanses of water where there aren’t any nearby diversion points.
Getting ETOPS certification takes some effort and can be costly. Given that neither Wizz Air nor Wizz Air Abu Dhabi have operated many flights over large areas of water, many routes in Wizz Air’s history did not require ETOPS certification.
However, you might think this is something the airline would consider as it seeks to expand from Abu Dhabi.
- Laying on the A321neos at Wizz Air Abu Dhabi for almost two hours longer than needed is unpleasant
- This is a huge waste of fuel and resources in general; I’m not sure this is related to Statement from Wizz Air To be the greenest airline in the world
I’d love to know if Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is pursuing ETOPS certification or if the airline continues to operate the route like this.
bottom line
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has launched flights to the Maldives, giving Etihad Airways some competition. While it’s cool to see an ultra-low-cost competitor in the market, it’s not particularly cool to see how Wizz Air Abu Dhabi operates the route. Since the airline doesn’t have any ETOPS-certified aircraft, the flight takes nearly two hours extra and is about 40% longer than a direct flight.
I’m curious if Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is committed to ETOPS certification or if the airline will continue to fly this needlessly inefficient route. This seems to be the kind of route you should only start after getting ETOPS certification.
What do you think of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s new service for the Maldives?
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