With travel subscriptions a staple of public transport in Switzerland and around the world, it now seems that airlines want to get a slice of the action: the low-cost carrier Wizz Air has just launched a new all-inclusive flying subscription, offering unlimited flights across its network for a set annual fee - including to and from Swiss airports. However, there are quite a few catches.

Wizz Air launches All you can fly unlimited flight subscription

Costing just 599 euros a year, the new All you can fly subscription promises unlimited travel on Wizz Air services for an entire year. Around 10.000 memberships have been made available to the public so far. The low-cost Hungarian airline flies to 140 destinations in Europe and around the world, going as far as Oman, the Maldives, Dubai and Kazakhstan.

Where can people in Switzerland fly with Wizz Air?

To get the most out of the offer, however, people in Switzerland will have to enjoy trips to Italy or Eastern Europe. From Basel, the company operates direct flights to Rome, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Poland. 

Options are more sparse from Geneva (just Sofia and Bucharest), and Wizz Air is yet to fly out of Zurich. However, it’s important to bear in mind that the All you can fly offer allows users to book up to three one-way flights for each day, meaning you could get to all destinations on the network - but with Wizz Air not offering connecting flights, it does mean having to face the unsettling prospect of “self-transfers”.

“We are thrilled to be the first to introduce this one-of-a-kind membership for travellers in Europe,” Wizz Air spokesperson Silvia Mosquera told Euronews. She added that the pass will give passengers “spontaneous travel options for a fixed price, giving them freedom to fly whenever is convenient without paying extra.”

All you can fly in Switzerland: What's the catch?

While the prospect of paying just 599 euros a year for unlimited flights sounds like the offer of the century, there are several caveats to bear in mind.

Booking fees and optional extras

First, each booking you make using the system incurs a set fee of 9,99 euros, and if you don’t fancy being stuck with little hand and no hold luggage in the middle seat in row 30, you will have to pay for all the extras like a standard passenger. This means that for the pass to be value for money, you have to be quite a frequent flyer.

All you can fly flights cannot be booked far in advance

In addition, flights can only be booked up to 72 hours in advance and are subject to availability. While subscribers can book return flights, if there are no seats left or the return leg isn’t within three days of when you book, you either have to pray for availability when your holiday or trip comes to an end, or book a return journey at the standard price. 

Options to rebook and cancel are largely non-existent

Typical for a budget airline, once you book you are unable to modify your flights in any way. You are able to start using the subscription to book flights from September 25, and once the pass is purchased you only have two weeks before you are locked in for the year.

Wizz Air criticised by environmental groups over new subscription

The announcement of the All you can fly subscription has also not gone down well with environmental groups, with Stay Grounded spokesperson Hannah Lawrence telling Euronews that launching the scheme “in the middle of a climate crisis is like adding wood to a burning fire.” She continued saying, “It shows the industry has no intention of reducing their emissions and cannot be trusted.”

In response, a Wizz Air spokesperson told the news site that the scheme is designed to try and fill as many seats before take-off as possible, noting that one full plane is better for the environment than two half-empty ones. Though they did not disclose how they plan to make the goal a reality, they said they aim to reduce their CO2 emissions by 25 percent by 2030 compared to levels recorded in 2019.

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