One airline has a new low-cost flight to a faraway destination

While low-cost airlines at the origin began in order that they're ready to shuttle passengers between nearby European cities, the model has taken off and, over the last decade, carriers have started launching routes that span farther and farther distances — in some cases, between continents.

Norse Atlantic Airways (NRSAF) 's new route between London and Cape Town quickly turned into the industry‘s flashiest new flight of 2024 for the distance — 5,188 miles airport to airport — and significantly lower price when compared with the $2,000-range offered by the 2 mainstream airlines that previously had a monopoly on the route: South African Airways and British Airways.

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Africa has since used to be an industry center of attention as mainstream U.S. airlines comparable to Delta (DAL) and United (UAL) have launched an even deal of flights to South Africa and Ghana. London-based EasyJet (EJTTF) also announced a flight between London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) and Luxor International Airport (LXR) in Egypt a great way to begin running in November 2024; low-cost flights to the continent from the U.S. are an even deal more hard to launch as a consequence of the distance.

Low-cost airline to launch new flights to Jeddah, Abu Dhabi

Essentially the most brand new low-cost carrier to announce two new flights to a far off destination is the Budapest-based Wizz Air (WZZAF) . The new route between London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) and King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah will launch in March 2025, while a second flight between Milan and Abu Dhabi will begin running two months later in June 2025.

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Both will run on the brand new Airbus A321XLR (EADSF) and take a respective six hours and 35 minutes and 6 hours in the Saudi Arabian direction. Flight-time could be seven hours in the Gatwick direction.

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Wizz Air CEO calls Saudi Arabia a ‘natural, strategic decision’

“We're excited to offer unbeatable fares to our customers on the brand new route from London Gatwick to Jeddah,” Wizz Air CEO József Váradi said in a statement on the brand new routes. “Since establishing our base at London Gatwick in 2020, we have demonstrated ambitious growth, making it a natural, strategic decision to operate our first Airbus A321XLR from this airport.”

The London-Jeddah route can have a base fare of £134.99 (roughly $177 USD) while the flight departing from Milan will start at €99.99 (roughly $100 ten USD) without surge and last-minute pricing. While the distance to Saudi Arabia from the 2 cities is almost identical, the London flight could be dearer as a consequence of the higher fees that airlines get charged to depart from town’s airports.

Váradi confirmed to journalists that the ultra-low-cost experience that Wizz Air is famous for will carry forward to the longer flights.

Which means there'll be no food apart from what passengers bring into the plane with them or come to a decision to shop for from the onboard menu. There could be extra fees for baggage and seat selection, as travelers forgo all “frills” to get there as cheaply as imaginable — something the airline at the origin thought would not work for a flight of nearly seven hours.

“Fifteen to twenty years ago I believed three hours would test passenger tolerance,” Váradi said at the same press conference. “[But] people vote with their wallets.”

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