Would you ‘suffer the pain’ of a long-haul budget flight? Wizz Air hopes so with new Saudi service

Wizz Air, which earlier this year received the unenviable title of ‘Worst Airline in Europe’ from consumer body Which? – has announced it’s launching long-haul flights.

The Hungary-based company will start flying from London Gatwick to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in March 2025 and will follow in June with a route from Milan to Abu Dhabi.

Known as a no-frills airline, with all add-ons costing customers extra, Wizz Air’s long-haul flights are likely to offer much the same experience as on shorter trips.

The company’s CEO, József Váradi,  is clearly aware of this, saying he hopes budget-savvy customers are willing to “suffer the pain” of the gruelling longer flights.

Váradi confirmed that, similarly to its short-haul services in Europe, Wizz Air’s flights to the Middle East will have only economy seats on board. 

What will a long-haul flight with Wizz Air be like?

The seats will be in the same format as those on short-haul flights – and they certainly won’t recline or come with any luxurious features. 

However, Váradi says he’s confident that passengers will be happy with the “ultra low-cost” experience – and he expects to launch further similar routes in the near future. 

“Fifteen to 20 years ago I thought three hours would test passenger tolerance,” Váradi explained at a press conference. “[But] people vote with their wallets.”

The launch comes at the same time as the introduction of a new Airbus fleet capable of longer journeys.

The Airbus A321 XLR light-body aircraft allows Wizz Air to increase its maximum flight time from six hours to eight. 

Fares will start from £134.99 (€160) for UK passengers for a one-way flight to Jeddah. On the way back, journeys will be slightly cheaper, owing to the UK’s air passenger duty charge. That figure is about half as much as a standard flight to the Saudi Arabian city, if booked today. 

“I just think that economics are so crucial to people,” Váradi enthused. “When you take a light body aircraft of any kind, and you take economy versus what most people do, you sacrifice some level of comfort.

“You are not on a flatbed. You suffer the pain if you wish for the economic benefits that you are deriving from the transaction,” he added.

While it appears these long-haul flights are just the start of Váradi’s plans, he confirmed that the company has no intention of crossing the Atlantic to the US with its new aircraft. 

Several airlines, including Ireland’s Aer Lingus, already fly transatlantic on slightly older Airbus A321LR single-aisle jets, but Váradi said that Wizz would simply be “buried” by competitors flying across the pond.

“We don’t want to be bullied in the ocean,” he said.

Is Wizz Air the right airline to take such a jump in aviation?

Wizz has been attempting to make strides in the industry recently, last month announcing an all-you-can-fly subscription – with no-frills, of course. 

Despite these attempts to improve its reputation, the airline has been ranked Europe’s worst by Which? for two consecutive years.

In the last ranking, it received just one star for both seat comfort and cabin environment – and only two stars in every other category.

Which? found that some 44 per cent of passengers surveyed reported some sort of problem with their trip, including being split up from fellow travellers who didn’t pay for seat selection. 

That’s likely to hit harder on an eight-hour flight, as opposed to a two-hour journey. 

Wizz Air also recorded the worst punctuality for three consecutive years in an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by PA News.

Are budget long-haul flights sustainable?

On top of that, there is sustainability to consider. 

While Wizz was named the Most Sustainable Low-Cost Airline for the fourth consecutive year at the World Finance Sustainability Awards 2024, its new schemes could see it stand to lose this title.

Speaking to Euronews Travel after the launch of the subscription service in August, some environmentalists expressed their dismay over the “climate-wrecking”new scheme. 

Campaign group Stay Grounded called for an urgent ban on frequent flyer programmes, the introduction of a frequent flying levy, and investment in grounded transport, “in order to avoid the worst of climate breakdown”.

Last year, UK non-profit the Travel Foundation said the global availability of long haul flights needs to be capped if we are to meet global climate goals.

Wizz remains confident that its new launches are a good thing – and not as damaging to the environment as opponents say. 

“Wizz Air is proud to have the lowest carbon emissions intensity among our airline competitors,” a Wizz Air spokesperson told Euronews Travel in August.

The airline also added that it stands by its aim of reducing its CO2 emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 – compared to 2019 levels.