WizzAir recently became the first European airline to introduce an annual “all you can fly” card. The introductory price is 499 euros per year, and from 16 August the price will rise to 599 euros per year.
ADVERTISINGAfter WizzAir recently launched its “All you can fly” pass, there has been a lot of speculation about whether the unlimited flying plans are worthwhile and which other airlines might follow WizzAir’s example.
Even after the pandemic, demand for travel remains high. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) expects 2024 to be a record year, with the travel and tourism sector expected to contribute $11.1 trillion (€10.09 trillion) worldwide.
According to the UN World Tourism Barometer, there were around 20% more international trips in the first quarter of 2024 than in the same quarter last year, counting around 285 million travelers.
Travellers today are increasingly looking for cheaper travel and flight deals that offer good value for money. The ongoing cost of living crisis that is still evident in many parts of the world has also contributed to this development, as it significantly limits disposable income.
Are unlimited flight deals really a bargain?
Today, many airlines offer deals and passes for multiple destinations, multiple flights or unlimited flights. These include WizzAir, Frontier Airlines, Air Canada and Porter Airlines, to name a few.
They are typically marketed with the promise of significant money-saving potential and allowing avid travelers to enjoy multiple adventures a year.
However, this may not always be the case as there are some hidden catches in many cases.
Some new unlimited flight offers may have membership limits. For example, WizzAir’s newly launched ‘All you can fly’ pass currently offers a maximum of 10,000 memberships. These memberships are spread across multiple airports in the destinations served by the airline in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
Of these destinations, several popular European airports such as London Gatwick, London Luton, Athens, Barcelona El Prat and Paris Orly, as well as many others, are already fully booked. This means that travellers who plan to make most of their trips from these airports will no longer be eligible for an “all you can fly” pass until more memberships are released.
So far, WizzAir has not released any information about if, when and how many more memberships might be offered. Therefore, even if travelers are willing to pay for them, they could miss out on unlimited flight memberships because their preferred airport gets booked up very quickly.
These flight deals often also include additional fees, such as a flat fee per flight, which is usually kept at a nominal value, such as €9.99 in the case of WizzAir. Likewise, travelers may also have to pay for their seats as well as baggage fees in case they want to take checked or hand luggage, as usually only personal items are included in the deal price.
Other extras such as snacks or drinks are of course not included.
Some flights can be booked as early as a few days in advance. Frontier Airlines allows international travelers to book international flights 10 days in advance with its “GoWild! All you can fly” pass, while domestic flights can only be booked one day in advance. If passengers want to book their trips even earlier, an early bird fee applies.
The “All you can fly” pass can be booked with WizzAir three days in advance.
Therefore, some of these unlimited flight deals may be more suited to spontaneous travelers, but may not be as suitable for travelers who like to plan ahead.
ADVERTISINGSince return flights are also only available three days in advance and seats cannot be guaranteed, travelers may not be able to return on their desired date and need to be more flexible, so these offers may not be suitable for longer trips.
In some cases, this may also mean spending more money to book a regular flight so you can fly back if needed. Also, some airlines only offer credits for one-way flights, so travelers may still need a return ticket.
Airlines like Air Canada have also severely restricted their flight routes, allowing travelers to choose only one route from one destination to another rather than combining destinations. However, these types of plans could be useful for regular students and business travelers.
With low-cost airlines such as WizzAir, which already offer regular flights at discounted prices, travellers may need to fly very frequently to get the most out of their pass, which may not always fit with their flight schedule.
ADVERTISINGAlthough unlimited flight deals may seem attractive at first, whether or not they are a bargain depends largely on the frequency of use and the type of traveler.
