What do you look for when booking a flight?
The details I tend to look at are airport destinations, time of takeoff, length of the journey to my destination, and of course, the price. Depending on the type of traveler you are or the type of trip you are planning to have, will determine which flight is best for you.
As a frequent flier over the last decade, I have been on many different airlines and wanted to give you a little insight on those ‘dirt-cheap’ flights. The wonderful world of budget airlines.
Some people enjoy budget airlines for the convenient and frequent take-off times, the ease of short distance travel, and of course, the prices. However do budget airlines have the same quality when you’re traveling a little bit further, for a little bit longer?
Not necessarily.
I’ve put together a list of the Pros & Cons of traveling with budget airlines so you can have the most insight possible before you book your next trip.
Budget Airlines, Is It Worth It?
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1. Cheaper Flights
With today’s economy this is probably one of the most important factors when someone is looking to book a trip. As humans, we are programmed to want the best deal. We don’t want to feel as if we are getting scammed out of our hard earned money, so when you see a round trip ticket from New York to Paris for $1087, and another one for $350, you’ll probably start with the cheaper option, right?
Automatically we want to feel like we’ve accomplished everything we came here to do. Get the best priced flight, hotel, and stay within our budget for the trip we’ve planned. This is one of the reasons a budget airline may be exactly what you’re looking for.
2. Meeting Other Like-Minded Budget Travelers
One of the best parts of traveling is the people you meet along the way, and often that starts at the airport. If you are traveling with a budget in mind, you most likely don’t want to find yourself surrounded by people who are planning a more ‘luxurious’ trip. You want to meet people who you have things in common with. Often this includes people who are open minded, ready to experience the true culture of a destination, and like you, want to meet people along the way.
I’ve met all types of people on my flights, including people who have become travel partners, or contacts that have offered me a place to stay in parts of the world I’ve never been to. Budget airlines have people from all walks of life aboard which makes them a great place to connect with individuals like yourself.
No matter what type of traveler you choose to be, it’s entirely up to you, and you get the create the reality you live in every day, no matter the circumstances.
image source unsplash.com
image source unsplash.com
3. More Frequent Flights
Budget airlines will often show up a lot more frequently in the list of departures when you begin your search. The reason is they fly a lot more often. It is typical to see three or four different flight times in one day with budget airlines, whereas with major airlines you may only see two in a single day. This is generally because they have a lot more people chasing the low price tags, therefore creating a need for more flights in a day.
This makes your trip feel more at ease. You have options of when you can leave. You don’t want to arrive at the airport at 5am? No problem, they’ve got flights all throughout the day within your price range.
4. Smaller Flights & Less People
If you’ve ever stepped foot upon a low-cost airline the first thing you might think to yourself is “wow this plane is small.” Budget airlines generally operate with a smaller fleet, which makes them a lot more convenient for local travel, and also smaller crowds. Instead of being seated all the way in the back of a 100-row aircraft, with two sides, and a middle section having to wait over 30 minutes to get off the plane after landing, it may only take 10 minutes with a budget airline. Generally there won’t be more than 30 rows on any budget aircraft, with just each row consisting of only 6 people.
More often than not your flight will be filled to capacity, but at least the capacity is 100 people versus 300.
image source unsplash.com
image source unsplash.com
5. Cheaper “First Class”
We all have our own variation of what “First Class” flying means, however when it comes to budget airlines first class basically means you get a little extra foot room and you get to sit in the front of the plane. You know what else? An upgrade to first class is generally in the $10-$20 range.
This comes in comparison to a major airline where an upgrade may cost you upwards of $150, it’s a pretty sweet deal, however there will be no complimentary aperitifs included on the budget airline.
Now that we’ve seen all the great aspects of what budget travel has to offer, let’s dig a little past the surface to see what an experience with low cost travel could actually look like.
1. Extra Expenses
You did it. You got a flight that was in your budget, nothing is stopping you from getting to where you want, or is it? Got a carry on? That’ll be $60. Need to check a bag? That’ll cost $80. Thirsty? Here’s a menu. Hungry? Your ticket doesn’t include snacks.
Although the attractive price tag is generally what will get you to buy the budget airline ticket, soon you’ll realize flying with a major airline may have been cheaper. Budget airlines are known for charging you for anything you may need on the flight. There are no complimentary snacks or drinks included, and if you don’t buy your bags online you will be charged double the price at the airport. I have even seen some airlines try to charge for your “oxygen intake” on the flight, or charging fees for checking in at the airport rather than doing it online. So even though your initial flight was cheap, if you plan on carrying anything more than a small purse with you, make sure you know what your additional costs will be, it sometimes can come out to be more expensive than just booking with a regular airline.
image source unsplash.com
image source unsplash.com
2. Uncomfortable Seats
When boarding a low-cost aircraft, there’s a saying that comes to mind.
“You get what you pay for.”
On most budget airlines you won’t find the typical inflight entertainment systems on the back of the seat in front of you, because generally budget airlines buy a flux of younger, basic aircrafts in order to be able to fly at the capacity they do. This means they sacrifice a lot of the features you may be looking for in a flight, like comfortability. The seats are usually not as cushioned as you’d like them to be, and some of these aircrafts don’t even have a reclining option.
If you’re taking a shorter trip, it’s no big deal. However if you’re planning to be in the air for more than 3 hours, it’s definitely something to consider when purchasing your flight.
3. Often Unreliable
If you’ve got connecting flights, this section is for you. Oftentimes with budget airlines, they have difficulties sticking to their schedules. This means that more often than not your flight will be delayed, switched gates multiple times, and sometimes even canceled. This can be very inconvenient for travelers who have shorter connections when flying because the itineraries are booked on a timely schedule.
So if you do decide to travel budget, make sure you have their apps in order to be able to get live updates on your travel plans with them.
image source forbes.com
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9. Long Layovers/ Multiple Stops
Something you see a lot with budget travel in general are multiple stops, and lengthy layovers. This isn’t special to budget airlines, however it seems that they usually have longer journey times. It isn’t rare to see a flight that if were direct, would only be 8 hours, stretched out to be about a 20-30 hour journey when traveling on budget airlines. Budget airlines will also add last minute changes to your flights up to days before your departure that may cause inconveniences. For example, a 2 hour layover could become a 12 hour layover, and you’re only given 24 hours notice of the change.
With extreme cases like this, you may be offered a refund or a flight change, but that isn’t always the case.
10. Bad Customer Service / Rude Staff
It is expected that people are often dissatisfied with the services provided by the budget airlines they have chosen to travel with. This could be caused by their lack of knowledge in how the budget travel industry works, or simply caught by surprise by the many inconveniences that do occur. With that being said, some airlines have non-existent customer service, and rude gate agents, and flight crews.
If you are standing in line with a bag, the gate agents may harass you to size it or pay to bring it on board. Often times they won’t have answers to the questions you might have, and on occasion you may have to deal with a flight attendant that doesn’t perform at the standards you’re used to on a flight.
When boarding a flight you always want to feel safe and appreciated, there is something about travel that should automatically put you at ease. However there are some occasions when the circumstances simply don’t allow that feeling of ease to last very long, and it’s been known to happen more frequently with budget airlines.
image source unsplash.com
image source unsplash.com
In Conclusion…
These are just a few things that I have experienced while traveling over the years. Understanding what you are compromising and what you are gaining when it comes to using budget airlines is very important and valuable information. It can help you make the decision that feels best for you whether you’re flying for an hour or a day. Be sure you consider all the possibilities of your journey.
So, will you be booking a budget airline in the future? Let me know in the commnets!
Happy travels !