The concept of commercial airline flight subscriptions in the U.S. started in 2022, when Alaska Airlines became the first major carrier to launch a subscription program. They offered a fixed monthly rate of $49 to $550, which allowed you to subscribe to Flight Plan for a year. You were then able to take 6, 12 or 24 round trips (depending on the plan), among 16 airports in California, Nevada and Arizona, including Los Angeles, Reno, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
On its heels, Frontier Airlines offered its own version of such a plan. Its GoWild! Pass allowed its members an “unlimited number of flights” to “all our destinations” for a year.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, commercial airlines have offered flight subscriptions for a bit longer.
- In June 2017, Surf Air had unlimited flights for a monthly fee
- Swiss launched a multi-flight subscription package in September, 2017
- Volaris introduced its subscription service in 2018.
- Etihad had announced an upcoming flight subscription product in February 2020, but, well, “thanks, Covid”
- ITA Airways began a Flight Pass program in early 2022
- AirAisia began offering its SUPER+ subscription program for worldwide travel in December, 2022
And now Wizz Air is piloting its own version of a subscription plan in Europe. It’s called WIZZ Multi-Pass and it’s similar to the version Alaska Airlines uses (which would make sense – the airline has partnered with Caravelo, which is the company that also partnered with Alaska Airlines).
The initial test of the subscription model will be for passengers traveling on domestic routes in Italy, as well as international routes to and from Poland.
The airline said in a press release that the subscription pass will be offered in increments of six months, which must be paid for on a monthly basis. It will allow travelers to take either one-way or round-trip flights each month.
The new program is scheduled to begin in May.
As part of the program, subscribers will be able to select from four different plan options:
- ticket only
- ticket and WIZZ priority
- ticket and a 20 kg checked bag
- all three of the above options at once
Those who buy a subscription can book a flight as soon as their subscription starts (subscriptions will begin on the 1st of each month) and can take their first flight within five days of booking (so on or after the 6th of each month. Subscriptions will automatically renew on the first day of every subsequent month for the duration of the six months.
“With WIZZ Multi-Pass, travelers get a fixed price for flights and additional products for the subscription period, a great opportunity ahead of a high summer season,” the airline said in a statement. “At the same time, there is no need to monitor prices and plan way in advance to secure cheaper flights; instead, it becomes very easy to hop on a flight to go to an important business meeting or a spontaneous city break.”
Those who hold a subscription pass will also be able to purchase additional add-on services when booking a flight, similar to passengers booking a regular ticket.
No price has yet been announced for the service.
Feature Photo: PxFuel
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