Wizz Air, a Hungary-based budget airline, is hoping to attract more customers with a new “All You Can Fly” offer for travelers interested in unlimited flights across Europe. The subscription is currently available for a discounted annual fee of 499 euros ($547), which will rise to 599 euros ($657) on August 16. If the offer sounds too good to be true, that’s because there are some hidden restrictions. Subscribers must book flights up to three days before departure and pay an additional flat fee of 10 euros ($11) per booking. The offer also only covers one personal item, meaning customers will have to fork out for carry-on or checked baggage.
The airline’s “All You Can Fly” offer, which allows a total of 10,000 members to fly through European cities such as Paris, Madrid and Vienna, has parallels to a similar offer that Frontier Airlines introduced for North American customers last year. Members of Frontier’s GoWild! subscription must also pay extra for baggage and amenities such as snacks, drinks and reserved seats, and must reserve international flights 10 days in advance.
Wizz Air hopes to attract new customers with the initiative, despite the company’s financial problems and poor reputation. Earlier this month, the company reported an operating profit of 45 million euros ($49 million) between April and June, a 44 percent year-on-year decline largely due to nearly a fifth of the airline’s fleet being grounded for engine inspections. And in February, consumer group Which? found that the airline was rated the worst short-haul airline by British passengers.
How are airlines doing in the face of inflation?
Despite inflationary pressures, airfares overall have not seen sharp increases. While core inflation rose 3.2 percent year-on-year in July, airfares in the U.S. fell 2.8 percent, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Airfares fell 1.6 percent month-on-month, making July the fifth consecutive month of price declines.
This decline can be attributed in part to a drop in jet fuel prices, Stephen Brown, deputy chief economist for North America at Capital Economics, told CNBC. Average jet fuel prices fell 17 percent in August compared to a year ago, according to data from the International Air Transport Association.
Those looking to save even more money on air travel with Wizz’s new offer should take advantage of it while they can, as unlimited flight subscriptions have historically been short-lived experiments for airlines. In 2009, JetBlue introduced an unlimited “All You Can Jet” offer for $599 that proved too popular, so the airline was unable to replenish supplies and stopped selling the pass just hours after its launch.
American Airlines (AAL) also introduced unlimited lifetime tickets in the 1990s, which a few dozen travelers purchased for $250,000 each, with the option to pay an additional $150,000 for a companion service. In the late 2000s, the airline ended the program after realizing how much revenue it was losing from the lucky ticket holders, some of whom had accumulated more than 30 million miles.
