You love to travel, and insanely cool places inspire you. You live for cultural experiences and thrive off the beaten path. The little luxuries of premium air travel don’t impress you. If you can relate, you’re probably a frequent searcher of budget flights.
For those of us who prioritize cultural discovery over fancy in-flight extras, the great news is there are plenty of discount airlines out there. But budget airlines have their pros and cons—and not all low-cost carriers are worth the hassle.
Here we share our tips on flying for less, choosing the right carrier, and avoiding the sting of hidden costs.
Table of Contents
- How to Choose a Budget Carrier
- Possible ‘Hidden Costs’ of Flying with a Budget Airline
- Low-Cost Carriers for Your Consideration
- Let Next Vacay Do the Hard Work for You
How to Choose a Budget Carrier
Everyone wants to fly for less, but it’s essential to consider the different low-cost carriers carefully. The thing to remember with no-frills flying is that something is getting cut to give customers the low price they want.
Often, this can mean a poorer customer experience or less staff to look after your needs before, during, and after the flight. You may also need to sacrifice some creature comforts, such as extra legroom or in-flight meals.
Here are some tips for deciding on the best discount airline for your trip:
1. Read reviews
You’ve traveled on one low-price airline, and you’ve seen them all, right? Not quite. Not all budget airlines are created equal. Believe it or not, some give you a great bang for your buck, while others will leave you wanting. Use review sites like Tripadvisor to see what other travelers have to say about their experiences.
2. Check stats
Using trackers like FlightStats can be a good way to check airline performance factors, such as on-time flights or canceled flights. This is especially important if you are traveling via multiple airlines and need to be on time for connecting flights.
3. Find out what’s included
Before you book, make sure you know what the price includes. For example, budget flights don’t typically include free meals. You may also need to pay extra for carry-on and checked baggage.
4. Flexible travel dates
Some smaller airlines don’t offer many options for travel dates because they only have so many flights per week. However, one of the best ways to save on airfare is to choose the right day to fly (with some days being cheaper than others), so this may need to be evaluated.
5. Consider your journey
Okay, so the cheaper airlines aren’t wowing you with what they can offer. But if you’re a solo traveler on a short-medium flight and don’t have too much baggage, the price difference could be entirely worth it. If you’re on a tight budget, or you just need to get from A to B, there’s no reason why you can’t forego a few luxuries.
Possible ‘Hidden Costs’ of Flying with a Budget Airline
As mentioned, it’s crucial to find out what’s included before booking a low-cost flight. The price displayed is often not the final price due to extras you may need to cover. So you should factor in potential hidden costs:
- Seat selection – many low-price airlines make back the cost of a cheap ticket by charging for things like seat selection offered at checkout.
- Carry-on bags – not all airlines offer a free carry-on, so always check this before buying your ticket. In addition, always check the size limitations as this can vary from carrier to carrier.
- Checked bags – most discounted airlines will charge for this, so it could be better to travel light if you’re trying to keep costs down.
- In-flight meals – food is often an extra you need to pay for on these flights. However, prices are usually fairly reasonable for snacks and refreshments (although it may give you more value to buy food at the airport).
Occasionally, these extras can add up to the same price (or higher) as a ticket with a non-budget carrier. So don’t get sucked in by the initial price if you can see yourself adding a lot of extras.
For more tips on getting the best deals and avoiding hidden costs, see our guide on how to find cheap flights online.
Pro-tip: Another caveat to be aware of with low-cost airlines is the limited flights available and the lack of alliances with other companies. In short, if you miss your flight, the airline may not be able to put you on a later flight or transfer your ticket to another partner carrier.
Low-Cost Carriers for Your Consideration
Here, we list some low-budget airlines that could be worth traveling with on your next trip. Of course, some are better than others. The important thing to remember is that everyone’s experience is different. You may have a fantastic flight experience with an airline that hasn’t had great reviews. Or you may have a not-so-good experience flying with an airline that everyone else raves about.
Ultimately, if your main goal is to travel in the cheapest way possible, the low airfare usually outweighs any negatives.
Southwest Airlines
This is one of the largest and most reliable airlines offering affordable travel. They rank well on review sites such as Tripadvisor, and they manage to deliver a pretty decent customer experience despite the low prices.
Southwest Airlines has over 700 Boeing 737 Jets to destinations in the US, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. The airline even allows up to two checked bags for free, providing the bags don’t exceed 50 lbs.
Spirit Airlines
Perhaps one of the most stripped-down, no-frills offerings on the market, Spirit Airlines is all about helping travelers make a saving. And with this carrier, you can get to 70+ destinations in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.
They offer a ‘Bare Fare,’ which allows just one personal item onboard the aircraft for those who are flying light. Rumor has it that customer service isn’t anything to ring home about, and legroom is a measly 28 inches of pitch. But as you can expect to pay around 40% less than the average budget fare for some destinations, it could be worth it.
JetBlue Airways
JetBlue covers a huge territory across the US, Canada, South America, and the Caribbean. One of the things that people love about JetBlue is the little in-flight perks, such as snacks and beverages, free WiFi connection, and in-flight entertainment. The legroom is above average too, and aircraft are even equipped with mood lighting.
Plus, this airline has a Best Fare Guarantee, so if you find a cheaper JetBlue flight on another site on the same day, you can claim a $100 credit.
Checked baggage starts at $30, and while seat selection is free, it will cost you $36+ for seats with extra legroom.
Icelandair
Renowned as a backpacker favorite, Icelandair is great for bringing consistently low prices. Routes to Reykjavik run from Anchorage, Boston, Denver, Edmonton, Halifax, Minneapolis, New York, Newark, Sanford, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, with broader connections to many parts of Europe.
Pro-tip: The best deals are often available for those who choose a no-charge stopover in Reykjavik, so what better excuse to explore the city?
LEVEL Airlines
A relatively new European carrier and sister carrier to Iberia (Spain’s flagship airline), LEVEL Airlines serves Boston, San Francisco, and New York with flights to Barcelona and Paris. Currently, you won’t find many choices for travel dates and airport locations, but prices are consistently low. The aircraft are all very modern too, with free in-flight entertainment.
Checked bags start at $55, and you can expect to pay an additional $16 if you want to choose your seat. In-flight food is fairly reasonable, though, starting at just $7.
AirAsia X
With flights to nearly 30 destinations in Asia (and connections to over 165 destinations in 25 countries, including Australia and India), AirAsia X is considered one of the world’s leading budget and long-haul carriers.
Most customers rave about AirAsia because of its outstanding customer service. Plus, if you’re the anxious type, you can use their app to check ahead of time and monitor your flight in real-time. So, you can sit back and enjoy your time at the airport worry-free.
With that said, extras are a bit expensive. You’ll pay $51 for checked baggage and another $15.99 if you want to add seat selection at checkout.
Let Next Vacay Do the Hard Work for You
There’s a lot to think about when choosing a budget carrier for your next trip. That’s why it’s important to keep your wits about you, watch out for hidden fees, and adopt tips and tricks to keep costs as low as possible.
Using flight search tools like Google Flights is a great way to compare different airlines’ offerings quickly for multiple destinations worldwide. If you want a way to get the best deals—without searching for them yourself—sign up to Next Vacay for email alerts on unmissable journeys to destinations you love.
Our unique system continuously scans hundreds of travel sites and databases to bring you the absolute cheapest flights available.
Ready to save hundreds of dollars on your next adventure? Join Next Vacay and pay $0 for 30 days!
