Wizz Air in talks with airports to take over slots from carriers at risk of bankruptcy

LISBON, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Budget carrier Wizz Air is in talks with airports across Europe to take over slots from airlines that could go bust, an executive said on Tuesday, after Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said the Irish low-cost airline was taking a similar step in late September. 

"We are always negotiating deals with airports. That's part of our business," Wizz Air Chief Corporate Officer Owain Jones told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Aviation Festival in Lisbon. "He (Michael O'Leary) likes to think they're the only ones doing that." 

Analysts and investors have warned that the high price of jet fuel and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty could lead weaker airlines to go bankrupt, particularly this winter. That would free up routes and slots for other carriers. 

The talks highlight the scramble between Wizz Air and Ryanair for airport slots and market share in central and Eastern Europe in particular.

Ryanair launched new routes to the Baltic states and said it plans to double passengers in the Baltic region in the coming five years after Latvian carrier airBaltic filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in September. 

Jones reiterated that central and Eastern Europe is still Wizz Air's core market, and that the carrier is looking closely at any way to expand to lucrative markets across Europe.

"We pulled back from our Middle East operations and we said that we want to reinforce our fortresses," he said.

He added that Wizz Air was looking to expand further in Italy and was planning to open new bases in Spain in the coming weeks. 

(Reporting by Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Jan Harvey)