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#1 Bucharest, assessment done and waiting, and I have spent the wait talking to the Romanian crew at the base and reading everything, so this is the Romanian and Balkan applicant's version of Wizz, compiled from them and from the group chats. Crew, correct me where I am wrong.
Why Wizz hires so many from the region
Wizz's biggest growth has been the Central and Eastern European bases and Romania is one of the largest markets: Bucharest, Cluj, Iași, Timișoara, Sibiu, Craiova and more. Sofia and Varna in Bulgaria. The bases need crew who speak the local language for the announcements and the passengers, and the region has a large pool of young people with good English and hospitality experience who want to fly. So Wizz is, for a Romanian, the most likely first airline by a wide margin.
The Bucharest base
One of the larger bases, a lot of A321neos, a network to the whole of Europe with a heavy UK and Italy component (the diaspora routes are full year round, which is why Bucharest winters are less thin than Warsaw's). The crew are mostly Romanian with some foreign crew. Rent in Bucharest is rising but a shared flat near the airport road is affordable on a junior salary.
The pay in lei
Same structure as everywhere: basic, sector pay, commission, allowances. In lei, a summer month is a comfortable local salary for a young person; a winter month is tight. The crew told me the diaspora routes soften the winter compared to the Polish bases.
The Romanian crew community
Large, close, and the crew rooms are Romanian speaking with English for the foreign crew. A lot of the crew are from outside Bucharest and share flats. The group chats are active and the swap culture is generous. Several of the senior cabin crew are in their twenties, which tells you the promotion speed.
The path out
The Gulf carriers recruit in Bucharest regularly and Wizz crew with two years are strong candidates. Some go to the Gulf, some to Western European carriers, some stay and become seniors and base trainers. The crew said Wizz Bucharest is a good place to learn the job and a fine place to stay if the city suits you.
For Bulgarians and the rest of the Balkans
Sofia is a smaller base with the same model. Serbian, North Macedonian, Albanian and Bosnian crew mostly join at the Romanian and Hungarian bases or through the newer Balkan bases when they open, and the right to work in an EU country is the question for the non EU nationals. Ask the recruiter directly.
If the call comes, I will write up the training from the Romanian side. If it does not, I will reapply, like Jakub.
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#2 Budapest, Hungarian, and the description of the Romanian crew community is accurate from the outside. The Bucharest crew who fly through here are young, quick and know the job. The diaspora routes point about the winter is right and is the reason Bucharest is a good base.
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#3 Krakow, and I want to underline the 'seniors in their twenties' line. The promotion speed at the growing bases is the honest reason to start at Wizz in this region. Nowhere else moves you that fast.
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#4 Cyprus Airways, and the Balkan crew who come through Larnaca on the Wizz flights are always on their way somewhere: the Gulf, Western Europe, or back to Bucharest as a senior. It is a launch pad and a good one.
