Wizz Air (LON: WIZZ) shares were given a boost Monday, climbing over 3% following an upgrade by Citi.

Citi analyst Satish Sivakuma upgraded the European airline to Neutral from Sell and kept a 3,000p price target on the stock, telling investors in a note the firm expects investor focus regarding European short-haul flights to move towards the improvements in cost. However, the firm sees a downside risk to pricing post-summer 2023.

Furthermore, the analyst stated that in short hauls, Ryanair and Wizz Air are both trending above 2019 levels in the first quarter.

Based on the recent earnings release from EasyJet, investor sentiment on European airlines is fairly positive, but not all are bullish, with WIZZ also downgraded to Add from Buy at AlphaValue/Baader on Monday.

Overall, our tracking of consumer demand for European airlines suggests the first part of the year has been positive, although Wizz Air Twitter mentions have declined from their March highs.

As the peak summer period approaches, we expect those European airline mentions to begin edging higher.

However, despite the expected strong demand, consumer sentiment for WIZZ isn’t great, with the airline ranked as the worst major carrier for flight delays from UK airports for the second year in a row, according to CAA data.

Wizz Air is set to report its full-year results in June.

By Jamel Boughedda