Dispute between low-cost airlines Ryanair calls Wizz Air's annual pass a marketing stunt
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary criticizes Wizz Air's new "All You Can Fly" annual pass. The Wizz CEO counters the remarks.
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- Fly as much as you want with an annual pass: this is the new offer from Wizz Air.
- However, the CEO of competitor Ryanair sees this as a pure marketing stunt.
- The Wizz boss defends the offer.
The low-cost airline Wizz Air is offering an "All You Can Fly" annual pass for around 475 francs. This is obviously not going down well with the competition: Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, has described the offer as a "marketing ploy".
O'Leary told Irish radio station "Newstalk" that his airline could never be expected to make such an offer . The annual pass could not work in practice because flights can only be booked 72 hours before departure.
By this time, however, most flights are already fully booked. Additional fees would also be charged. "It's an interesting marketing trick, but that's all there is to it," says O'Leary.
Wizz Air counters
Wizz Air has not let the remarks go uncommented. According to CEO Yvonne Moynihan, O'Leary's statements were "not only provocative, but also inaccurate". The annual season tickets were sold out within a short space of time.
The average load factor of a flight is between 90 and 95 percent. According to Moynihan, 72 hours would be enough to get a seat.
Wizz Air recently made headlines when a 14-year-old was denied a flight home despite having a valid ticket.