From packages offering unlimited flights to just being clever about how and when you book airfares, we explore options for getting value for money when taking regular flights to your overseas home.
Budget airline Wizz Air caused a whirlwind of activity this month when it launched its first-of-a-kind scheme that offers unlimited flights for a year.
For a one-off fee of €599 – or €499 for those quick enough to sign up between 13th and 15th August, subscribers to the new All You Can Fly pass can book as many Wizz Air flights as they can realistically for a year, paying just €9.99 for each fare.
Limited initially to 10,000 subscribers, who are required to select an airport of preference, Wizz Air says the offer sold out in days. Given the demand, there are hopes the airline will make it available again in the future.
All You Can Fly won’t suit everyone but it could offer considerable savings to second homeowners who make multiple trips abroad each year. In the UK, Wizz Air’s main hub is Luton Airport, but it also flies out of Gatwick, Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow and Aberdeen. Its 950-route network covers 53 countries, including popular tourist routes to Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.
Careful of the conditions
Inevitably with a product like this, Wizz Air’s All You Can Fly comes with terms and conditions. For starters, flights cannot be booked more than three days in advance and the earliest new subscribers can fly this year is 25th September (so the first flights can’t be booked until 22nd September).
This means you’re booking last minute and brings some uncertainty given there may not be All You Can Fly seats available on every flight. It also makes booking return tickets tricky – if you’re away longer than three days, you’ll need to do it from your destination and build in some flexibility. Up to three flights in one day can be taken, enabling you to reach Wizz Air’s far-flung destinations using transfers. But the airline stipulates these transfers must be realistically achievable.
All You Can Fly membership does not include baggage and seat selection, the cost of which can range from a few euros to over a hundred depending on bag weight and season. And to stop subscribers making tentative bookings they may not need, if you are a no-show on three booked flights you will be banned from flying with no refund.
Not forgetting you need to check the offer would be value for money for you. This will depend on your individual travel habits. As a guide, for subscribers (who paid €599) visiting their second home three times a year (so six flights including returns), the average price per flight works out at €110 (£94). Given the availability of other cheap air fares, All You Can Fly may not be worthwhile if just hopping to Europe at this level of frequency. Making four return trips a year, the average price drops to €85 (£73).
Hacks for cheap air travel
Looking at low-cost air travel generally, careful planning can make a big difference to the cost of your annual bill. The reverse of All You Can Fly, booking low-cost flights as early as possible usually gets you the best prices. This means jumping on airlines’ websites as soon as they release their seasonal schedules – to stayed informed, sign up to their email alerts. As an example, right now easyJet allows you to book flights up until mid-June 2025.
Going a step further, when airlines release their seasonal schedules it’s not uncommon for second homeowners to bulk-book a load of cheap flights for different times in the year. They may not use them all but the low prices and having the guarantee of being able to visit your property in the months ahead make it worth doing.
Besides travelling outside school and major bank holiday times, flying only on certain days of the week can keep costs down too. Being flexible with the time of day you travel also helps. You can see all this using the ‘calendar view’ option on most airlines’ booking system.
According to research by flight aggregator Skyscanner, Tuesday is the cheapest day to fly. Most airlines launch their discounts on Monday nights, so you can pick up the best prices on Tuesday mornings and save somewhere between 15 – 25% on your flight ticket. Ultimately though, flights are priced based on supply and demand so popularity of a route will determine its prices.
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