Wizz Air, the leading low-cost airline in central and eastern Europe, is to place an order for 50 short-haul jets from Airbus, as it seeks to become one of the leading budget airlines in Europe, reports Kevin Done.

The group, which began flying in May 2004, has 26 Airbus A320s in its fleet. The latest purchase, agreed in a memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday, will take its total orders from the European aircraft maker to 132.