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.
Following 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.