Why You Should Indulge In A European Adventure With Wizz Air

WIzz Air plane
WIzz Air flying through bright skies (photo courtesy of Wizz Air)

Explore new destinations with Wizz Air

I’m super excited this weekend as I’m partnering with Wizz Air for a weekend escape to Romania. Another country on my bucket list just got a whole lot easier to visit thanks to two flights a week from Doncaster Sheffield Airport to Cluj-Napoca, a small town in the heart of Transylvania.

Flying from Doncaster Airport

ItΒ is justΒ twenty minutes from our house to Doncaster Sheffield airport which makes a delightful change from the ninety minute journey to Manchester that we usually have to endure.Β So here we are at the crack of dawn, bleary-eyed and a little grumpy, but full of anticipation for our weekendΒ visit to Romania.

Wizz Air distinctive pink livery
Wizz Air distinctive pink livery (Courtesy of Wizz Air)

About Wizz Air

I will be honest – the only reason I had even heard of Wizz Air is because of their distinctive pink livery – way classier than orange don’t you think?

The airline wasΒ launched inΒ 2004 in Katowice, Poland and has grown to become a leading Central and Eastern European carrier opening up easy access to many destinations previously difficult to reach. Within a few hours, you can be touching down in medieval cities drenched in fascinating, historical significance, such as Warsaw, Gdansk and Skopje.

This airline has me dreaming of weekends away, offeringΒ 420 routes from 25 bases in the region. I think I may be about to become their newest frequent flyer!

Departures from Doncaster Airport

The destination map from Doncaster Sheffield has me salivating at the prospect of great value weekend breaks to places I had not consideredΒ before. Just take a peek for yourself.

Wizz Air route map
Wizz Air route map

It is a similiar story too from the other UK airports that Wizz Air serves.

Booking yourΒ seats

When it comes to booking your seats, Wizz Air is not your typical budget airline. It offers a range of creative, added services at a very reasonable price and rewards loyalty through the Wizz Discount Club.

Here’s how the pricing works when youΒ book flights onlineΒ quickly using the search facility. It returns two prices; Basic and Plus.

Wizz Basic flight option
Wizz Basic flight option

In this example selecting Basic results in a fare of Β£84.98 per person including one hold bag priced at Β£26.50 for 32Β kg. Be sure to double-check the costs of the hold baggage, as this varies depending on the route, with Vilnius for instance costing less.

It is possible to check in at the airport for just Β£9 which is incredibly reasonable considering Ryanair once charged me Β£80 toΒ print my boarding pass. I swear to god that is the most expensive piece of paper I have ever had the misfortune to own.

Wizz Air Basic flight options
Wizz Air Basic flight options

If you book Plus flights instead, the cost rises to Β£128.98 but includes a range of extraΒ benefits including:

Feature Individual Cost (inbound and outbound)
Flight ticket N/A
Seat selection Β£8.00
WIZZ Flex Β£18.00
Free airport and online check-in Β£18.00
Priority Boarding Β£7.00
+1 Small personal item on board Included
1 Large cabin bag Β£18.00
1 Heavy checked-in bag Β£26.50
Total Β£95.50

Personally I think this is incredibly worthwhile as the extra cost is just Β£44 and if you add up the value of all the additional extras it comes to a whopping Β£95.50 (assuming of course that you value those benefits!).

Wizz Air cabin
It’s a pretty funky cabin too, don’t you think?Β – courtesy of Wizz Air

Baggage allowance

Talking of baggage, fees can make a huge difference to the price of your budget flight but to be fair Wizz Air baggage costs seem pretty reasonable if you opt for the basic fare.

Type Size Weight Cost Number of bags allowed
Small Cabin bag Β 42x32x25cm Β 10kg max Β Free One
Large cabin bag Β 56x45x25cm Β 10kg max Β Β£9 online or Β£30-Β£40 at the airport One
Hold bag Β 119x149x171cm Β 32kg Β Β£13 – Β£50 per item Up to 6 items per passenger

Fees may vary depending on the route.

The good news is that unlike the poxyΒ 15 kgΒ allowance for Ryanair hold luggage, Wizz Air offers a very generous weight allowance with a choice of either 23 kg or 32 kg bags. The downside is that you really need to be careful with the size of your hand luggage as if it exceeds a certain size, there will be a surcharge at the airport.

Wizz Flex

Wizz Flex
Wizz Flex – Courtesy of Wizz Air

Wizz Flex is an incredibly innovative feature which personally I think makes opting for the Plus worthwhile in itself. It allows unlimited flight changes for free up to an astonishing four hours before the flight. Now, it is rare that I cancel a trip but occasionally life gets in the way, people get sick, circumstances change.

How great to know that you are booking your trip with no need to worry about any changes you might make ultimately costing you the price of another ticket!!

Wizz Discount Club

image

The Wizz Discount club is another innovative feature which I have not come across before on any airline. Essentially you pay an annual fee which then qualifies you for atΒ least Β£7.50 off the fare price, discounts on your luggage costs and member only offers. It costs just Β£26.99Β per year.

I’ve just signed up as I have already booked further flights with Wizz to Macedonia. See, what I mean about a whole new world awaiting me? The savings on your first trip fund the club in any case!

Applying the Wizz Discount club to the basic booking actually decreases the price from Β£84.98 to Β£81.97 – yes that’s a saving of Β£3.01Β once the relevant discounts have been applied. This really rewards those who will book more than one trip per annum with Wizz Air and is evidence of how this airline thinks differently.

Plus yourΒ membership is good for up to five family members making this exceptional value but make sure you book any more family members at the same time otherwise the discount will not apply.

Wizz Express Booking

Express Booking is a new, first of its kind function which launched in May as part of the new Wizz Air website. It enables WIZZ customers to buy their ticket in just three clicks, within thirty seconds. This is great for those who prefer to use mobile devices and won’t even test the patience of someone as impatient as me!

You can check out the video below to see exactly how this feature works.

Wizz Privilege Pass

Privilege pass is for those who fly regularly and for €99 per annum, you enjoy free seat selection, priority boarding, a small personal item and large cabin bag. Given the cost of paying for these items, you would need to fly several times to get your money’s worth but more importantly you need to consider whether you really value those benefits enough to want to pay extra for them.

Whilst I think the Wizz Discount Club totally makes sense, I am more on the fence in respect of this pass.

On the whole, Wizz Air offer some great innovative booking features but on the downside, when booking flights to Macedonia, I found the booking process to be slow and cumbersome so be patient. Rather surprisingly also, a day after booking I received a free Wizz Air Discount Club coupon which is no use to me at all considering I already signed up for it when making my bookings!

Before and during your flight

So once you have booked your flight and are en route, what else can you look forward to?

Wizz App

Well first you may wish to download the Wizz App which allows you to easily check schedules, change flights, make bookings and stay updated. It is much easier to use this than trying to navigate around the website on your mobile phone.

Priority boarding

For passengers with small children or with disabilities, Wizz Air offersΒ Priority boarding free of charge. For everyone else, there is a small extra charge of Β£3.50 unless you opted for a Plus ticket.

Personally, IΒ would not bother with this as in reality all it means is that you are the first to board the bus and then wait ages for everyone else to get on which is what happens on our return journey from Cluj. At Doncaster, you will be the first to enter the gangway only to end up waiting in the drafty corridor until the plane is ready.

It is quite nice being able to smugly walk past everyone as you jump the queue and admittedly isn’t expensive but doesn’t really achieve anything!

Decor

Wizz Air cabin crew
Wizz Air cabin crew – courtesy of Wizz Air

Once onboard, I find myself impressed by the trendy, fun design with pink and purple decor throughout. The seat pitch is reasonable and the seats comfy.

Wizz Cafe
Wizz Cafe – courtesy of Wizz Air

Wizz Cafe

The staff look smart and presentable in their purple uniform and the service is good. Even better, the prices onboard don’t leave me reeling, with water and coffee costing €2, wine, beer and sandwiches €4 and spirits €5.Β I need that strong coffee, considering the ungodly hour of the flights on both the outbound and inbound routes!

What else do you need to know about Wizz Air?

Flights leave on Mondays and Fridays from Doncaster to Cluj-Napoca with fares starting from a super low Β£24.99 (One-way including taxes and non-optional charges). Don’t missΒ our upcoming posts on our weekend in RomaniaΒ by signing up for updates here.

In total, Wizz Air offers 77 routes to 37 destinations in 15 countries from nine major UK airports (Gatwick,Β Glasgow, Belfast, Aberdeen, Doncaster, Liverpool, Birmingham, London Luton and Bristol). You are spoiled for choice!

Wizz Air livery
Wizz Air livery – courtesy of Wizz Air

You can take your pick from a vast amountΒ of destinations in the Balkans, Baltics, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic and can also book hotels, car parking and hire cars online with Wizz from as little as €12 a day.

Upon arrival

Airport connections

Although, you canΒ book airport connections online between many of the destinations, I wouldn’t recommend this. Prices from Cluj Napoca to downtown are €15 single or €30 return and we only paid between 20 and 30 Lei which works out around half that price.

My verdict

Wizz Air pack a punch for a budget airline. Their route map has me excited for weekend trips to Europe when I had long ago dismissed Europe as a weekend destination having ticked offΒ the main tourist cities.

The airline offers a range of cool services which I haven’t seen on other airlines and best of all for me, it flies from an airport which is practically on my doorstep. I feel a bunch of weekend trips coming on!

The only downside is that you have no choice over your seat selection unless you pay extra but we were seated anyway. You also don’t seem to be able to add an additional person to your booking so if you happen to book people separately, you will likely find yourself sitting in different parts of the plane.

That’s a small price to pay in my opinion when the airline opens up a range of exciting new affordable destinations. It definitely won’t be my last trip on Wizz Air.

Top Travel Hacks for a trip to Romania with Wizz Air

  1. Search for Romanian hotels on Hotels.com to earn one free night in ten
  2. Use the Curve card toΒ save on international transaction fees.
  3. Book yourΒ car parking through Top CashbackΒ andΒ use your cashback for holiday spending or convert to air miles.

Have your say?

Have you flown Wizz Air and if so, what did you think? Which is your favourite budget airline and why? I’d love to know.

Pin this:

Wizz Air Pinterest
Pin this to remind you of the exciting destinations you can visit with Wizz Air

Disclaimer: Please note we flew courtesy of Wizz Air but all opinions are unedited and our own.

This post may contain affiliate links which pay me a small commission should you click on them and make a purchase. Creating blog content takes up a lot of time including researching, fact checking, editing and more and for very little reward. It would be great therefore if you could use these links if anything catches your fancy. These small commissions help towards the cost of running the site, and the occasional glass of wine.
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About Anne

Anne is the founder and editor of Frommilestosmiles. If she isn't travelling, she is thinking of travelling or planning her next trip. She has visited over 90 countries on six continents and sampled everything from backpacking to bank bursting travel. Her mission is to help you enjoy more luxurious travel without the luxury price tag through the use of airline and hotel rewards and other money-saving travel tips

33 comments

  1. I’ve never heard of it but it sounds like a great airline, I’d take Wizz. Wait let me refrain…I’d fly with Wizz. The prices are not too bad. Thanks for this…

  2. I’ve never flown Wizz Air but have heard some good things about them. I’m a budget traveler so if the cost is low enough I will definitely be giving them a try next time I’m in the states.

  3. I’ve flown with Wizz Air many times going home to Romania. I’m glad to see that they fly into Cluj now. How was your trip BTW? Happy travels!

  4. Such a fun walkthrough! Never flown this but will definitely try this underrated airline on one of my trips.

  5. I haven’t yet flown Wizz Air but I definitely will in the near future because they offer really great prices on flights from Dubai to Sofia and Bucharest. I am really curious and it looks like its a positive experience. Thanks for sharing, this post is super informative.

  6. I’ve not heard of Wizz Air but these discount airlines are fantastic. So many opportunities to escape for a few days that just wouldn’t have been practical before. A benefit of living in Europe too I guess, everything is so much closer that it is down here.

  7. Such a benefit to living in Europe…being able to fly off to another country for the weekend with a discount carrier! It’s not that easy to do that in the U.S. I looked at Wizz Air for my recent trip to Romania, but knowing I would have to check a bag, it made more sense for me to use my BA Avios for a short-haul price. Still, though, their route map is enticing and I’m sure I’ll take advantage on a European trip.

    • You are not kidding, people always ask me how I fit in so much travel. Well this is definitely one way as a weekend is better nothing and when some of the deals are so cool, it makes it viable. I have used AVIOD for my trip to Albania next summer but my flights tomorrow we’re such a bargain that I dint want to use them for that

  8. They don’t operate in India yet. Looks like a great experience to have inside the aircraft, almost ike pampering. Good service always gets noticed and is impressive.

  9. My first Wizz Air flight was about 6 years ago and they only seem to have gotten better since! They are one of the budget airlines I love flying with (and they give the others quite the run for their money.

  10. Love the classy colours. Shows a lot of energy! It definitely seems like a great deal if your flying out of their hub!

  11. This was really interesting! We almost recently booked a flight with Wizz — but it actually worked out better time wise and price wise for us to take a train πŸ™‚ It love when the budget airlines offer the extras (like a chosen seat) for a really affordable price. Thanks for sharing!

  12. I used wizz air to go to Budapest if I remember rightly, they’re a great airline & the colour is fabulous! I really should explore more of Europe, it’s good to know they fly to more than the ‘usual’ places!

  13. Thanks for the introduction to Wizz Air – first time I’m hearing about them, but I love that they service so many off the beaten path destinations in Europe. Definitely keeping them in mind when we’re flying out of London next πŸ™‚

  14. Love the hot pink! Does Wizz stand for Wizard? I’ve never heard of this airline and love discovering new airlines. I think it’s fantastic you can travel so cheaply from UK to Romania. My husband and I are thinking of coming to live in Europe for six months.

    • It’s awesome isn’t it. You will definitely be able to get some travelling in if you do with the wealth of low-cost carriers we have. I was pretty impressed with Wizz Air though because their model is different and doesn’t feel as cheapskate as some airlines!

  15. I have never even heard of Wizz Air but it looks like a good airline to fly and especially on a budget as the price was good. And maybe I would be a little bit swayed by the pink livery haha

  16. I would definitely try Wizz Air, especially as we are now based in Europe. It looks like a great budget airline and their 10kg carryon for no extra cost is pretty decent compared to other carriers. I will check these guys out the next time I fly.

    • Yes and a whopping 23kg as standard for check in plus the ability to add an heavier case! That rocks. Where are you based now?

  17. Oh wow! I’ve never heard of this airline before. Will check this now for possible weekend getaways. πŸ™‚

  18. I’ve never heard of Wizz Air and had no idea you could fly from Doncaster. I will tell my sister this as her husband comes from there.

    • Thanks it is so much more convenient than having to travel over the Pennines to Manchester. I hope more routes come onboard as I am hooked!

  19. Looks like an interesting option for UK travelers. Regional air travel is a nice option for country hopping.

  20. I’d never heard of Wizz Air. When I went to Europe this summer we did a road trip, but when I go back next spring we’ll be looking to fly around the continent a bit. I’ll check them out, since it’s great that they fly to smaller airports that are normally impossible to get to.

    • I was the same but was really impressed by what we got for the prices they charge. I’m heading to Macedonia this weekend with them as well precisely because they head to so many destinations other airlines don’t fly to.

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