This budget airline has unveiled plans to launch its first direct flights from the UK to America

Wanting to jet off to the big ol’ US of A but been struggling to raise the funds? We come bearing good news. That US road trip you’ve been planning could soon be cheaper (at least to get to), as Wizz Air has applied to operate between the UK and the US ‘as soon as possible’.

The low-cost airline submitted an application to the US Department of Transportation last Friday (January 23), which would allow its UK subsidiary to offer transatlantic flights for the first time.

Wizz’s current destinations include over 800 places across Europe, the Middle East and parts of North Africa. Journeys to the Western Hemisphere would be a first for the Hungarian airline, potentially putting stuff like the Statue of Liberty, Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Rushmore within cheaper reach.

To the Americanophiles out there (or Ameriboos, depending on who you ask), if you’re reading this and thinking ‘I’m down, how do I book?’ you may have to hang on a little longer. Wizz Air’s application doesn’t name specific routes, launch dates or aircraft types. 

Of course, there are plenty of other airlines that already fly direct to the States – and some aren’t even that expensive. JetBlue and Norse Atlantic currently offer cheap-ish travel from the UK to the US, the latter serving both New York and Orlando with return tickets priced at an impressively low £300. 

In other words, the transatlantic affordable flight market has plenty of space for competition – and is primed for a new set of direct flights courtesy of Wizz Air. Watch this space for updates.

Did you see that  Wizz is offering passengers the chance to pay to keep the middle seat free? That’s right, you could be flying Stateside with even more legroom.

Plus: the UK could be getting a direct ferry to Norway for the first time in 18 years.

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