Not to hate on budget airlines but...
Budget airlines in theory are great as they allow affordable travel across many destinations. Though unfortunately, through my own experiences I have learned most of the time it ends up costing the same amount regardless of what airline I choose to fly, defeating the purpose of all the energy is takes to fly budget.
I've flown Spirit, Frontier, Wizz Air, Ryan Air, and EasyJet; I will point out that I've noticed flying budget in the US is much more convenient than in Europe. Though if you find a great deal and choose to fly Wizz or Ryan Air, here are some tips and reminders I would like to share!
Airports: Make sure to check the airports that the airline is flying out of, most of the time they fly out of smaller and more remote airports which are harder / farther to get to.
Flight timing: These flights usually take off at odd times in the night, please ensure before hand that you will be able to get to the airport because sometimes public transport does not run in late hours of the night. Also ensure your arrival airport will have adequate methods of transportation when you arrive. Once, I landed in Milan around midnight and had absolutely no way to get from the Malpensa Airport to city center unless I wanted to pay for EUR 200 Uber, I ended up riding a random night bus 2.5 hrs to city center.
Check-in: Set a reminder to check-in at least 3hrs before your flight time. The fee to check-in at the airport is very high and I believe they cannot even print you a physical boarding pass after a certain time. Wizz Air charges GBP 40 to print your boarding pass at the airport if you miss online check-in.
Airport security: Another limitation I was not aware of personally was that security closes at certain airports late in the evening (i.e. the security at Gatwick Airport closes at 11 pm even though there are flights leaving from there past that time - I personally missed my flight to Greece because of this).
Baggage limits: It's well known that there is no carry-on bag allowed on these airlines unless you pay an extra fee, you are just allowed a small backpack. Though I have noticed even if you pay for a bag or just have a backpack they are extremely strict about the size of these, which is a headache of its own.
Loyalty programs: I haven't found the loyalty programs very enticing with the budget airlines, I feel like every-time I fly they find something new to charge me even if I've already purchased the annual membership. There are not very helpful perks and you're not rewarded for your loyalty in anyway when with standard airlines like British Airways I am able to build points toward future flight purchases. Though please let me know if I'm wrong and they have any good loyalty perks :)
Why I choose to fly standard airlines?
I don't mean to be stuck about choosing how you get to a specific destination, but I have really given airlines a fair shot, especially when it came to Wizz and Ryan Air's cheap tickets. I love a bargain but not at the price of my security and peace of mind. I've laid out benefits to each option below:
Hopefully this helps and I would love to hear about your flight experiences as well!
LB
Comments