If you’re okay with depending on a budget airline that The Points Guy once described as “perfectly tolerable,” then the Hungarian low-cost-carrier Wizz Air has a deal for you. CNBC reports that the company will let you pay €499 ($550) for the privilege of flying anywhere its planes go for an entire year.
Of course, there are catches:
- Each booking costs an extra €10 on top of the pass.
- You can only book three one-way trips departing the same day
- You have to book at least 72 hours ahead of time
- You have to pay for things such as baggage and priority boarding separately
- You can’t stack any other offers on top of the pass
Never mind that industry observers believe cheap flights are incompatible with a climate change-fighting future, the move helps stimulate demand in an environment where consumers are getting a bit more cautious with their cash.
“With regard to the booking trends, I think the issue what we are seeing is that the question is not only down to the airline sector,” Wizz Air CEO József Váradi said during the company’s most recent earnings call earlier this month. “So, you look at reports in the United States, in Europe, across consumer goods and service industries, it’s a fairly clear trend.”
Váradi added, “All consumer-affected businesses are pretty much reporting market softness, and I think this is the result of inflation pressure really catching up with the consumer finally. So, people are simply contained on their spending capacity.”