WIZZ AIR UNLIMITED FLIGHT DEAL: IS IT WORTH IT? OUR THOUGHTS.
Lotus Eaters love nothing more than a modestly priced flight to an unusual European destination – this is how we’ve ended up in North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia over the years.
When we recently heard about the Wizz Air Unlimited flight deal, aka the Multi-Pass or “all you can fly” – we knew that we had to give it serious consideration. And that we did.
This blog post details everything that we thought about and discussed, before deciding whether or not to take the plunge and buy the pass.
What is the Wizz Air Unlimited Flight pass?
The Wizz Air Unlimited flight pass is a 12 month subscription allowing you to take unlimited (up to 3 per day) flights. The offer applies to the entire network, enabling (or potentially enabling) flights to the Middle East, North Africa, Scandinavia, Madeira and more. Each flight (apart from the first) incurs a £9 booking fee, flights can not be amended or re-booked. The crucial catch is that flights can only be booked one way and 72 hours before lift off – effectively “stand-by”.
The introductory price of the deal was €499 (£430) until 15 August €599 (£515) thereafter.
Pros – in favour of the Wizz Air unlimited flight pass
We came very close to buying the Wizz Air unlimited flight pass – here’s what the devil on our shoulder was telling us.
Unusual destinations
Wizz Air is a European carrier, but they fly to some quite far flung and unusual destinations. Abu Dhabi, The Maldives and Saudi Arabia to name but a few. There is one caveat thought – by my calculation to get to The Maldives from the UK, you’d need to take three flights – one within Europe, one to Abu Dhabi and then a final one to The Maldives – quite a faff.
Closer to home, are some interesting destinations like Agadir in Morocco, Dalaman in Turkey and Malta.
And firm favorites
Wizz Air’s network also includes some classic European destinations – various places in Italy, Cyprus and The Canary Islands. As well as the usual low-cost city breaks, such as Budapest and Bucharest.
Neutral environmental impact
We were initially quite surprised that a European airline would offer unlimited flights against the backdrop of growing concern over climate change. Surely the idea that people could hop on as many flights in a year as they can is a terrible idea for the environment?
Well, in actual fact, the impact is fairly neutral. Wizz Air is offering customers using the unlimited flight deal the chance to take up unused seats on a plane that is going to fly anyway. These seats may otherwise be empty on the flight. When put in this context, it doesn’t quite seem that consumers are being encouraged to fly about with reckless abandon.
Price
The price of £515 (£430 by midnight on 15 August) is fair and it feels realistic that one could “makes one’s money back” after taking just a couple of flights.
If you take say 10 flights per year with Wizz Air, you’ll probably just about break even. More than 10 flights (at an average of £50 each) and you’re getting into “making your money back” territory. Throw in a few peak summer flights – trips to the Canary Islands or Greece for example, that may typically cost £150 one way, and the maths really starts to stack up.
Cons – against the Wizz Air Unlimited Flight pass
Some deals are just too good to be true though, and we think this might be one of them. Here are all the “cons” that we considered.
Flight availability
This is the biggie! Let’s look a little closer at the Wizz Air Multi pass Terms and Conditions.
Wizz Air does not guarantee that You will be eligible to book flights via the Wizz All You Can
Fly, because the provision of flight tickets depends on a number of internal and external factors
These factors include, but not limited to the
a) number of total registered members of Wizz All You Can Fly,
b) number of overall passengers with booking to the given flight, and the
c) seat capacity of the given flightQuoted from the Wizz Air website on 16 August 2024
The way we interpret this, is that Wizz Air retains a fair bit of wiggle room to decide how they will allocate seats on flights to customers with the multi-pass deal. It may depend on how many people buy the pass – given that Reddit was full of stories of the website crashing when customers tried to snap up the pass, this doesn’t bode well.
Wizz Air “does not guarantee” that you will be eligible to book flights. Eek! I’m not sure about you, but if I’ve paid £500 for something, I’d quite like a guarantee that I could use it. It’s a bit like paying £50 a month for a gym membership and being told you may not be able to get into the building. Let alone find an available treadmill.
So, we have to take it on trust that Wizz Air will apply these, quite wide ranging, terms and conditions fairly. And, if they don’t, there’s little that customers can do.
Accompanied travel
Given the unknowns about flight availability using this pass, it seems unrealistic to think that couples or groups of friends wanting to travel together, actually could. As a couple, we predominately travel together and it would be a bit of a deal breaker if we couldn’t get on the same departure. I can already imagine the frantic simultaneous clicking through Wizz Air’s website to try to get onto the identical flight (in seats nowhere near each other of course) and the stress that would ensue if one of us booked onto a flight and then the other couldn’t.
Solo travellers will have more flexibility and less stress, but we think there’s likely to be a bit of an issue for everyone else.
Return flights – or lack of
This brings us to what we think is the second biggest risk associated with the Wizz Air Unlimited flight pass – you can’t book return flights. The deal applies to one way flights only.
Wizz Air have said that customers could, of course, choose to purchase a normal ticket for their return journey. So, I suppose if it’s important to you to return home at some point – which it is for most of us – then you’d have to stump up the cash. Or take the gamble that you can get a flight back when you need to…..which when you are effectively on stand-by for a flight, is living life on the edge somewhat.
Of course, if you want to take a short three day weekend city break – then this shouldn’t be too much of an issue for you. Simply book two flights at once within the 72 hour period.
But it’s not just the risk that you’ll have to fork out for a return flight, or won’t be able to get home when you want to – not having a return flight booked could have other consequences – more below.
Travel insurance
I’m one of those nerds who reads my travel insurance policy in detail. The vast majority of travel policies, only cover return trips overseas. Open ended travel, or one way travel, will not be covered. This means that your insurance may be invalidated if you don’t have a return flight. Not ideal, given Wizz Air’s reputation as the “most delayed airline in Europe.”
Entry requirements
We’ve read lots of news articles about the Wizz Air Unlimited pass which have promoted the idea that you can get to far flung places, such as Saudi Arabia or Kuwait.
Good luck getting in without a return flight booked.
The vast majority of countries outside of Europe that require a visa on entry, will also require proof of onward travel. Given that Wizz Air’s deal does not allow you to book a return flight until 72 hours before your travel, you’re going to have a tricky time proving onward travel.
Is there a way around this? You could book a return flight before for 72 hours time, before you enter the country. But don’t forget, you not only have a £9 fee for doing this, but if you are a no show to three flights, Wizz Air reserves the right to cancel your pass.
Luggage – or lack of
The Wizz Air Unlimited pass does not include luggage, other than a teeny hand luggage bag.
We very rarely pay for extra luggage, preferring to travel light and avoid the extra fees. So this doesn’t really bother us, but if you’re someone who likes to take more than a handful of outfits and tiny toiletries, then the costs are quickly going to add up.
One thing Wizz Air has not clarified, is whether Priority Pass holders – those who have purchased a £200+ pass to allow them to carry luggage on all Wiz Air flights, will be able to use this in conjunction with the unlimited flight deal. TBC on that one.
Origin airport
If you happen to live near to Luton Airport, Wizz Air’s home airport, then this deal may be a little more inviting. Our usual airport is Gatwick, from which Wizz Air does fly, but only on a limited basis. The appeal of schlepping out to Luton on a regular basis, just isn’t there for us. Especially when you consider the extortionate cost of the Luton Airport Shuttle service – £5 for what feels like a two minute journey. No thanks.
Wizz Air also fly from Leeds, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Liverpool and Birmingham – but unless you want unlimited flights to Bucharest or Budapest from these airports, the deal is probably not worth it for you.
Accommodation costs
It is fairly well established that the price of accommodation increases, the closer you get to the required date. Sometimes there are bargains to be had, but in general, booking accommodation in advance is the best way to get a bargain.
Wizz Air Unlimited allows you to book flights a maximum of 72 hours before departure -so for most people, this is going to be mean scrabbling about last minute to book hotels.
Wizz Air Unlimited Flights: Our Verdict – it’s a no from us for now
This offering will not suit anyone who likes to plan ahead, anyone limited to peak travel or looking for flights on popular routes. It is more likely to suit flexible travellers, maybe remote workers, those with second homes, and anyone willing to fly away on a whim – in full knowledge that they could be totally snookered if they can’t get a return flight.
Ultimately our decision on whether to take the plunge comes down to a question of trust. Do we trust Wizz Air to apply flight availability restrictions fairly? Personally, we haven’t seen enough clarity in the terms and conditions to convince us that this is a deal worth accepting. Nor do we quite think that the maths adds up for us.
That said, we are very willing to be proved wrong. If we see and hear about consumers having a great experience with Wizz Air, then perhaps we will reconsider. And, should other airlines follow suit – we may think again.
Written by Emma
Wine Lover. Yogi. Hiker. Writer.
Vietnam in December: what to expect
VIETNAM IN DECEMBER: WHAT TO EXPECT. We arrived in Vietnam in early December and stayed through to the middle of January, travelling from north to south. I’d just flown in from Bali after a month there — my skin still warm from island sunshine — so Northern Vietnam’s December weather came as quite a shock.…
Yucatan at Christmas: what to expect
YUCATAN AT CHRISTMAS: WHAT TO EXPECT. Every year, we love getting away at Christmas. Ideally to visit somewhere hot, exotic and totally different to home. We spent Christmas in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula — and it was, in the best possible way, unlike any Christmas we’d known before. There’s something quite magical about being in a…
10 Best Hikes in Madeira: Explore + Hike Madeira
10 BEST HIKES IN MADEIRA: BEAUTY BEYOND THE PICO TO PICO. We recently visited the tropical island of Madeira. A beautiful island offering incredible opportunities for hikers and nature lovers, close to Portugal. There is an abundance of trails in Madeira, from mountain hikes, to coastal and the famous Levada hikes. You’ve probably heard of…
USEFUL LINKS FOR FLIGHTS, ACCOMMODATION AND TRANSPORT
CHECK LATEST FLIGHTS
ACTIVITIES TO CONSIDER
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Please note that some links on our website are partnered with affiliates. Using an affiliate links does not make it more expensive for you to purchase. We receive a small commission whenever you buy something which in turn allows us to keep writing independent travel guides and your support is greatly appreciated.
Leave a Reply