After a failed attempt to fly to Vienna with Wizz Air in 2020 (oh COVID-19) and a failed attempt to fly to Greece with Wizz Air in 2021 (ooooh, COVID-19), it was with some trepidation that we approached Luton for our flight to Romania…with Wizz Air. Would 2022 be kinder to our travel plans? Find out about our journey in this review of Wizz Air.
Airport Experience
London Luton Airport
Luton Airport is about 30 miles North of London. It can be reached with a train from London. You then hop on the new DART train. It is all easy enough but as our flight was very, very early we decided to travel up the night before and stay in the Ibis Hotel. It is a slightly rubbish walk along a busy road to the airport in the morning but at 10 minutes, it isn’t too bad.
Wizz Air’s check-in is divided into two; normal and priority. There seemed to be a similar length queue for both sections, with desks serving all destinations. The queue went quite slowly and when we got to the front we realised why. There were four desks open, all next to each other. For some reason, the priority desks were in front of the normal queue and three of the four desks were serving that side, leaving just one for the priority passengers most of the time. This seemed counterintuitive.
When we reached the desk, the check in staff were smiley and friendly so top marks there.
Luton itself has been refurbed which encourages passengers to wind their way through some shiny shops before being thrust into an overcrowded main departure lounge. This feels a little hectic but it’s fine. However, going down to the gates at Luton is deeply unpleasant. the corridors are thin and cold. Our top tip is to go to the gate as soon as it is announced so you aren’t queueing in the corridor but in the larger spaces of the actual gate rooms below. This is especially relevant if you have priority boarding included in your ticket (or as an add-on). You won’t be stuck in a squished queueing set-up.
Cluj Napoca Airport
There was zero queue at Cluj Napoca airport when we arrived. I think we were there earlier than many of the other passengers for our flight. The service from the check in staff was efficient, if not sparkling. We got through security quickly and walked straight into a wall of people.
Cluj Napoca was built to perfectly house a few planes a day. However, it is now catering to many more than that. Finding a seat is like gold dust downstairs. There are few shops to while away your time in. Our top tip is to head upstairs where there are a few more seats and a bar where you can pick a mall drink to sip as you wait. Just avoid seats near the enclosed smoking room. It isn’t very enclosed.The business lounge looked equally crowded (but with bigger seats) and only looked out over the check in area so we didn’t bother with it.
Wizz Air Luggage
Wizz Air Check In Luggage
Travelling for eight days in the unpredictable November weather of Romania we decided to push the boat out and bring layers!
Thanks to our Wizz Plus tickets, we had a 32kg check in luggage allowance . Now, even with this, we were still going to be picking up our bags every day or two so we just brought our normal hand luggage size backpacks and they reached the dizzy heights of 12kg!
Wizz Air Hand Luggage
Review of Wizz Air hand luggage; they have opted for the ultra low-cost option of the “small bag for free” option. Thinking ourselves expert hand luggage packers, we opted for this. We were each allowed one bag at 40x30x20cm.
This is considerably smaller than the standard 50x40x30 offered by many other carriers. However, it is a little more generous than low-cost rival RyanAir so that is a mini point in their favour. On our Wizz Air trip to Malta in 2021, I had a rolling rucksack that fits exactly but Mr Fluskey only had options that were too big or a bit too small so he found the task more tricky.
The Wizz Air Plane Interior
Our Seats
It was lovely to book our seats well ahead of time. On previous Wizz Air flights, we have paid a little extra (£10 or so) to ensure we had seats together. This doesn’t allow you to select seats so, although we were together, we were bereft of the window seat both times. As part of Wizz Plus, you can pick priority seats.
I love the hot pink trim around the edge of the seats which reflects the pink of the engines, tail and shirts of the cabin crew. However, the seats aren’t very big and the leg room is poor so if you are taller or travelling alone, I highly advise you to book an aisle seat so you have some room. The arm rests are the skinny kind seen on many a low cost carrier and which I hate, but it saves them weight and gains you an extra 3 cm of arm room. There is also not much of a head rest beyond a slightly curved section. You won’t be reclining or propping your head here so if you (like me) are a side sleeper then bag yourself a window or a forgiving husband’s shoulder.
The Storage
Considering Wizz Air’s strict hand luggage policy, and the small overhead storage, I was surprised to see people happily shoving small bags, big bags, coats and duty-free in the lockers. When the completely full flight was almost boarded, finding space for the larger pieces became a real struggle. I was surprised to see that the cabin crew weren’t asking people to remove the extra items that didn’t belong. I guess it’s quicker not to. It would be a great idea to tag the overhead pieces like BA and not allow anything else into the lockers. This is another reason to get to the gate early or boom priority boarding. It is good to get your stuff stowed by your seat early.
Wizz Air Inflight Entertainment
This is a short section to review of Wizz Air. There is no entertainment beyond the inflight magazine. Mine was pretty battered but I had a quick flick through and it would have entertained me for 30 minutes or so. I had loaded my phone with podcasts, audiobooks and TV shows so I was ready for the flight.
Wizz Air Amenities
Wizz Air does not provide any fun extras. You get a sick bag in the seatback pocket and that is about it. The area in the small bathroom which sometimes has female hygiene products was sadly bare. In fact, on our flight, there wasn’t even a proper soap dispenser. Instead, we had some soap in a coffee cup which didn’t feel very hygienic at all.
Wizz Air Food and Drink
On Wizz Air, there is no food included with any ticket type. There is a selection of snacks and sandwiches to purchase on board. However, due to the time of our flight, we had picked up breakfast before we boarded. we can’t leave Karl without breakfast for that long after the alarm goes off!
It is a bit of a tradition to buy a little glass of bubbly (prosecco usually) when we are taking a low cost flight. It is a fun way to feel a little fancy. I was happy to see that they had mini bottles of prosecco but it was only available on Italian routes. In my opinion, it would be a good plan for them to roll it out across the network. I know plenty of people would enjoy a glass of bubbles before noon but couldn’t stomach the spirits on offer.
Final Thoughts for Our Review of Wizz Air
So, would we book Wizz Plus again? Honestly, probably not. We often use Wizz Air for short trips and can just about squeeze our stuff into the under-seat cabin bag. I definitely think it’s worth paying for seats or at least the little extra to sit together on longer flights. The fares can be such a bargain that the little extra feels worth it.
However, if we were using Wizz Air for a longer trip I would consider Wizz Go; their middle-cost bundle. The Wizz Air network is ever-expanding to exciting new destinations. Wizz Go gets you regular seat booking, a large cabin bag and 20kg check-in bag. Even with this bundle, the fares are competitive for mid-haul destinations.
Saying that, we are booked to fly back from Marrakesh with them very soon and we have just opted for priority boarding and extra hand luggage so maybe value will always win!? We hope you got something from our review of Wizz Air, why not leave us a comment.
Rosie xx
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