Wizz Air launches the 'All You Can Fly' programme: unlimited travel for one year at EUR 599 plus EUR 10 per flight

Amidst the difficulties of the airline industry, with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair registering a 46% fall in profits in the last quarter, Wizz Air's marketing is trying to shake things up. The European airline has announced the launch of the 'All You Can Fly' programme, a large number of flights over a 12-month period at EUR 599, to over 800 destinations. The 'Wizz All You Can Fly' membership is the first of its kind in Europe, with Wizz Air as the only airline to offer such an extensive number of flights at a fixed price. The €599 annual membership will give travellers access to flights across the entire Wizz Air network, with a €9.99 booking fee.

Affiliates will be able to choose from destinations available 72 hours before the departure date and time, destinations to almost 200 cities in over 50 countries on 800 routes.

It will be seen in the coming months whether this initiative will change competitive relations. Ryanair's strategy of cutting costs has so far had a less than brilliant effect on the profit and loss account: profit after tax for the three months to the end of June, the first quarter of Ryanair's financial year, was EUR 360 million, well below the EUR 663 million of the same period last year. The drop in margins was due to average fares per passenger falling by 15 per cent in the quarter compared to the previous year, as the airline was forced into a 'more challenging pricing policy than previously planned' to support demand, CEO Michael O'Leary said in a statement. A problem that did not affect easyJet, which left fares stable and posted a 16 per cent increase in gross profit in the third quarter, thanks to strong demand for summer travel, which amounted to £236 million for the three months ended 30 June, up from £203 million a year earlier.