Passengers on a 7-hour budget flight will have to entertain themselves, CEO says

“If you want to have more fun, you have to create the fun for yourself,” Wizz Air CEO József Váradi told Bloomberg. “We won’t be the ones to create it.”

The budget airline’s planned new route from London to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is decidedly Spartan.

The 240 passengers aboard each flight will share just three bathrooms. They will have to make do without the entertainment screens and reclining economy class seats available on Wizz Air’s more expensive rivals.

Passengers can access unlimited food and drink, extra legroom and more baggage options on the overnight flight, but will have to pay a premium. Varadi defended Wizz Air’s no-frills approach to flights, suggesting the airline’s cheap tickets made flying more affordable.

“When you get an old carrier and you get a free coffee, that’s probably the most expensive cappuccino of your life,” Varadi said.

“We don’t want to do that.”

A Wizz Air flight from the UK to Saudi Arabia will cost travelers as little as £134.99 ($178.50) when the route launches in March next year, with a comparable British Airways flight costing £556.54 ($738).

The Hungarian carrier is known for its cheap short-haul flights across Europe but now aims to expand to further afield, including the Middle East, India and Pakistan.

Wizz Air made headlines earlier this year when it offered passengers the chance to buy a year of unlimited flights for €499 ($550).

However, the deal came with some pretty sizable caveats, with holders facing additional baggage fees and only being able to book flights during narrow time slots.

Wizz Air did not respond to a request for comment, sent outside normal business hours.