WizzAir recently became the first European airline to launch an annual “All you can fly” pass for an introductory price of €499 per year, rising to €599 annually from 16 August.
ADVERTISEMENTFollowing WizzAir launching its “All you can fly” pass recently, there have been a number of speculations about whether unlimited flying plans are worth it and which other airlines may follow WizzAir’s lead.
Post-pandemic travel is continuing to see robust demand, with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) expecting 2024 to be a record-breaking year, with the travel and tourism sector likely to contribute $11.1tn (€10.09tn) globally.
According to the UN World Tourism Barometer, international travel was around 20% more in the first quarter of 2024 than in the same quarter last year, coming up to about 285 million travellers.
As such, travellers nowadays are increasingly searching for better travel and flight deals which offer value for money. The ongoing cost of living crisis still seen in several parts of the world has also contributed to this shift by considerably curbing disposable income.
Are unlimited flight deals really a bargain?
Several airlines nowadays offer some version of multi-destination, multi-flight or unlimited flight deals and passes, such as WizzAir, Frontier Airlines, Air Canada and Porter Airlines, to name a few.
These are usually marketed as having significant money-saving potential, as well as allowing avid travellers to jet off on several adventures a year.
However, this may not always be the case, as in several cases, there are quite a few hidden catches.
A number of new unlimited flight deals may have membership caps. For example, WizzAir’s newly launched “All you can fly” pass offers a maximum of 10,000 memberships at the moment. These memberships are spread across several airports across the destinations the airline serves, in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
Out of these destinations, several popular European airports, such as London Gatwick, London Luton, Athens, Barcelona El Prat and Paris Orly, amongst many others are already sold out. This means that travellers intending to make most of their journeys from these airports will no longer be eligible for an “All you can fly” pass, until more memberships are released.
As of now, WizzAir has not revealed any information about if, when and how many more memberships could possibly be released. As such, even if they may be willing to pay, travellers may miss out on unlimited flight memberships due to their airport of choice being sold out very fast.
These flight deals also often include extra charges such as a flat fee per flight, which is usually kept at a nominal fee, such as €9.99 in WizzAir’s case. Similarly, travellers may also have to pay for their seats, as well as baggage charges, in case they want to bring any checked-in or carry-on luggage, as only personal items are usually included in the deal price.
Needless to say, other extras such as snacks or drinks are also not included.
Several flights may also open bookings only a few days in advance. Frontier Airlines allows international travellers using their “GoWild! All you can fly” pass to book international flights 10 days in advance, whereas domestic flights can be booked only one day in advance. An early booking fee is levied in case passengers want to book their trips even earlier.
WizzAir booking for the “All you can fly” pass open three days in advance.
As such, several of these unlimited flight deals may be geared towards spontaneous travellers, while potentially not being as suitable for travellers who like to plan ahead of time.
ADVERTISEMENTSimilarly, due to return flights also being open only three days in advance, and seats not being guaranteed, travellers may find themselves unable to return on their chosen dates, and be forced to be more flexible. As such, these deals may not suit longer trips.
In some cases, this could also mean shelling out more money to book a regular flight to be able to return when you need to. Some airlines also only offer one-way flight credits, which may still leave travellers needing a return ticket.
Airlines such as Air Canada have also significantly limited flight routes, allowing travellers to choose only one route, from one destination to another, instead of mixing and matching destinations. However, these kinds of plans could be useful for regular student and business travelers.
For low-cost airlines such as WizzAir, which already regularly offer discounted flights, travellers may need to fly extremely often, in order to make the most of their pass, which may not always align with their schedules.
ADVERTISEMENTAs such, although unlimited flight deals can seem attractive in the beginning, ultimately whether they end up being a bargain or not depends significantly on how frequently they are used and by what kind of traveller.
