The hidden costs behind Wizz Air’s all-you-can-fly subscription service

The budget airline's membership scheme promises a golden ticket to unlimited, year-round flights, but what's the catch?

Wizz Air's All You Can Fly scheme lets passengers fly to destinations such as the Maldives, Italy and the Middle East. Reuters

An airline that bills itself as Europe’s greenest ultra-low-cost airline launched an all-you-can-fly subscription service last month. Wizz Air’s latest promotion invited travellers to pay €500 ($552) for 12 months of “unlimited flights to any destination on its network”.

According to the airline, all 10,000 passe­­­s sold out within 24 hours. “We have been overwhelmed by the extremely positive response for our new ‘All You Can Fly’ membership and are excited to start flying our new members,” a representative from Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the company's Middle East subsidiary, told The National. “The membership allows frequent flyers to save money, visit friends and family more regularly and spontaneously visit off-the-beaten-track destinations.”

Travellers who purchased passes can now fly to destinations such as Maldives, Iceland and Italy, with no routes excluded from the membership. The airline has not said if it will sell more subscriptions in the future.

“The subscription is perfect for frequent, spontaneous flyers seeking deals, with any optional extras or add-ons available at the regular price,” the representative said. “As our network continues expanding, we expect greater interest in our unique and exciting products."

Travellers in the UAE can still purchase Wizz Air’s MultiPass, a 12-month subscription plan that allows subscribers to travel each month on eligible Wizz Air flights by paying a monthly fixed fee.

A golden ticket to unlimited flights

Wizz Air's all-you-can-fly passes sold out in less than a day, but is the membership a golden ticket to unlimited, year-round flights? While no specific destinations are excluded from the promotion, the airline doesn’t guarantee seats on any of its routes. “There is no specific percentage of seats reserved for non-subscribers/subscribers, this is a subject of availability,” the representative explains.

On every flight, the airline will determine if enough seats are available for All You Can Fly members. This could mean that during peak times such as public holidays, summer and Christmas, travellers who have paid for an annual subscription may need to spend more to guarantee a seat.

Under the membership, flights can only be booked three days before travel – so it’s not ideal for travellers who want to plan. “Wizz Air will determine ahead of the 72-hour period if enough seats are available to be booked via All You Can Fly memberships,” said the representative.

The membership claims to “offer unlimited ticket purchases”, which does ring true. However, travellers should not expect a free ride. Every flight comes with a flat booking fee of €9.99. And since return flights are only bookable if flights are within 72 hours of the initial booking date, most reservations are set to come with two booking fees as trips longer than three days will need to be reserved via two one-way flights. However, this doesn't apply to the first booking under the membership, which is complimentary.

These niggles are minor and unlikely to impact frequent flyers and those who are flexible about where they travel. However, the promotion has not landed well with environmental groups.

"Frequent flyer programmes are fuelling aviation’s unsustainable growth, giving some flyers a false sense of reality that we don’t live in a climate crisis. Unlike what some may think, flying is not an all-you-can-eat buffet," says Jo Dardenne, aviation director at Transport & Environment, Europe’s leading advocates for clean transport and energy.

Binge-flying or bargain airfares?

And while Wizz Air isn't the first airline to introduce a flight subscription service – US budget airline Frontier has a similar model – given that we’re in the midst of a climate emergency and that aviation is already struggling to meet its sustainability targets, the airline's campaign could be perceived as irresponsible. But that’s not so, says Wizz.

“The new product not only helps travellers discover Wizz Air’s extensive network but, in fact, contributes to maximising the load factor during the last 72 hours before the flight," the representative said. "High load factor is a crucial efficiency driver and leads to a reduction in emission intensity."

The airline, which operates one of the youngest fleets in the industry, is keen to highlight its efforts towards more sustainable flights. “Wizz Air is proud to have the lowest carbon emissions intensity among our airline competitors, making it the most sustainable flying option,” says the representative, highlighting Wizz Air's target of reducing CO2 emissions per passenger/km by 25 per cent by 2030 as well as the company's continuing investments in sustainable aircraft.