Budget airline Wizz Air launches ‘all you can fly’ annual deal

Budget airline Wizz Air has launched an ‘all you can fly’ subscription, which offers customers unlimited flights for an annual fee of 499 euro (£428, $549).

While airlines have offered a variety of multi-flight packages for some time, unlimited deals are a relatively new concept.

The scheme is similar to those being offered by Frontier Airlines in the US and Malaysia-based AirAsia.

Wizz Air has faced criticism in the UK for its customer service and flight delays.

The discounted price for the yearly pass will be available until 16 August and then rise to 599 euro.

From September, subscribers will be able to travel to destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia by booking an available flight at least three days in advance and pay a flat fee of 9.99 euro.

Wizz Air said it is selling 10,000 of the subscriptions, distributed across the airports it operates from.

However, when BBC News checked the company’s website several of the ‘airport of preference’ options were shown as being sold out.

A message on the page said: “In the case that you are unable to select your preferred airport, please note that the limit has been reached and Wizz Air is unfortunately unable to offer you a Wizz All You Can Fly membership at this time.”

The terms and conditions document on Wizz Air’s website also warns that seat availability was not guaranteed to membership holders and would depend on “several external and internal factors.”

In June, Wizz Air was named the worst airline for UK flight delays for the third year in a row.

According to analysis of official data by the PA news agency, departures of Wizz Air’s planes last year from UK airports were delayed by an average 31 minutes.

Leading UK consumer group Which? has also named the airline as the worst performing for its customer service.

This month, Hungary’s competition authority imposed a 770,000 euro fine on Wizz Air for misleading communications, including for how it encouraged customers to purchase more expensive travel packages.

Wizz Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BBC News.

Also in August, Wizz Air reported a 44% drop in first-quarter operating profit and cut its profit forecast for the year as a whole.