Budget Airlines Make Travel Affordable
For so long travel seemed unattainable to normal people because of the cost of flights but this is no longer the case. Budget airlines have opened the door to opportunities to travel. I have seen flights as low as $19. If you have wanted to travel but have not thought it possible, think again! You can!
With it said that you can travel by air affordably there are some caveats. That $19 fare I talked about, that is a bare bones price. When I say bare bones, I mean that just gets you a space on the plane with one personal item. If you have bags there is a fee, if you want to be guaranteed to sit together you will need to pick your seats for which there is a fee, and once on board do not expect drinks or snacks without you guessed it… a fee.
Here are a few examples of cheap flights that I found with just a quick search. With a bit more research you may find even better deals. Each of these flights was with one of these budget carriers: Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines, or Allegiant Airlines. There are several other budget airlines but they did not serve the routes I searched for. My first stop for finding cheap flights is Google Flights, I’ll make a post all about this soon.
I would also like to add that while I love that the existence of these airlines allows us to travel quite regularly without breaking the bank, there are some tradeoffs that we always consider when booking.
Things to think about-
- Does a legacy carrier have a comparable price?
If you search Google Flights and legacy carriers are on results list with a price that is comparable to the budget airline, I recommend going with the legacy carrier (United, Delta, American etc). Make sure to pay attention to what fare you are purchasing and the terms of that fare. Legacy carriers have added a fare class to try to compete with budget airlines and it does not usually include bags.
- How long are the flights to where you want to go?
Donnie and I are usually traveling to Florida when we travel with budget carriers, which is only 2-2.5 hours but we have also used low-cost to travel to Las Vegas which is a 5.5-6 hour flight. These seats are tight. They do not have much room and they do not recline. On some of the airlines the seats in the first few rows have more space and will recline but be warned these seats come at a premium and when you start adding things on you need to compare the low cost price vs. a classic carrier fare. The last time we flew to Vegas I splurged and got the stretch seats on Frontier for extra space and a bit of recline.
- How good are you at packing?
This may seem like a funny question but when you fly budget you better put your best foot forward when packing. Donnie and I are cheap, I am more so than he is, but on the regular I only bring my backpack as personal item on board with me packed very strategically for up to 6 days. When I say personal item I do not mean carryon. On low-cost carriers you will need to pay to carry on that rolling small suitcase you have. Look on the carrier’s website for size allowances. They do not mess around with bags. The have a sizer and if your bag does not fit you will pay a fee. Pictured below is the Allegiant and Frontier Airlines’ bag sizers. Also, I love my North Face backpack! In the picture below it is packed for a 5 day trip. This bag fits in the “personal item” sizer of budget airlines so it flies for free! If we are flying budget, this bag is my go to.
MOBILITY MOMENT-
When traveling in the US you are allowed a bag for your medical paraphernalia that you are not charged for and that does not count towards your allowed baggage. You are not allowed to use this bag for anything that does not relate to your medical condition.
Diaper bags also usually not counted towards your bag allowance.
Make sure to always check the carrier’s bag policy.
- How definite are your travel plans?
Budget airline tickets are almost always non-refundable so only purchase your tickets when you are sure that you are going on those dates. Or you can purchase insurance which they usually offer for a fee at the end of their check out. I also always make sure to book with a credit card that has trip insurance but note that insurance is not “cancel for any reason” and your reason for canceling must fall in their terms to cancel in order to be reimbursed.
Tips for flying low cost-
- Determine how long you can comfortably sit without moving around too much. Then take that time and search for a vacation destination within that window if you want to go vacation somewhere without too much pain for a very cheap price. My threshold for purchasing the bare fare is about 3 hours, anything more than that I am thinking about purchasing the extra room seats in the front of the plane.
- Bring your own food/snacks. Most low-cost carriers do not offer free snacks or drinks. You can save money by packing your own food for the plane ride.
- Pack diligently! Get out of paying bag fees by making sure that all your stuff fits in the airline’s personal item sizer. This is possible, especially in warmer months.
- Bring your patience- These companies usually only fly certain routes on certain days so often there are delays because each route has one plane so if one flight of the route gets delayed it pushes all the flights in that route back as well.
- Price out one-way flights vs round trip flights. Sometimes you can get a cheaper deal by flying one-way with one airline and then your return flight on another airline.
- Low-cost airlines are great for repositioning.
I must reiterate one last time to be patient when flying low-cost! You will most likely experience a delay, just go with it, don’t get frustrated, include it as part of the experience that makes your getaway memorable. The worst delay we have experienced was our last trip to Vegas. We were delayed for 3 hours. Frontier was nice enough to provide us with 2- $50 vouchers for future travel as well as a $30 meal credit. Even though it was a pain and exhausting to be delayed, we did walk away with money for a future trip 🙂 I may have scared you a bit but there is nothing to be afraid of with low cost carriers. Keep your expectations to a minimum and you will be just fine.
My final thoughts on budget carriers: I am happy they exist. Low-cost airlines have allowed Donnie and I to visit my mom more often as well as travel to other places that a classic carrier was charging 2x more. Even though I do not particularly enjoy riding on their planes, squished in like sardines, I am thankful for the opportunity to travel and see the US without spending outside of our means. Some have even introduced international flights to the Caribbean and Central America. You better believe that I would sit in a squished seat to get to a beautiful sandy beach with crystal blue waters.
Happy travels!!! I wish you luck finding great deals so you can get away! Everyone needs to experience travel.
Amazing tips Missy! Thank you for sharing this. Not too many people will share “secrets” like these😊
Thank you for putting in the time to put this together. And p.s I also love your post about Florence! I look forward to reading your blog about your trip to Tuscan Countryside!