On this trip to Europe, I took a discount no frill airline, Norwegian Airlines. For the approx $300 savings, I got nothing other than a seat on the airplane. Here are the extras you have to pay:
Prebooked seating assignment $45 each way
Meals $45 each way, it turned out they don’t even serve water or drinks if you were not on the “meal plan”, nevermind snacks. You could bring a bottle, walk to the steward station and ask for water, they do not provide paper cups.
Luggages $45 each, each way. You can have a 22" carry-on less than 10kg, this weight including the back pack.
Ear phone $3 each, each way
Blanket $5 each, each way
Never mind the cancellation surcharge and cancellation insurance. They have no travel insurance.
I am used to Southwest Airlines, thought it is no frill, but Norwegian gave me the shock.
Other airlines like United, American, and Delta are not exactly more frilly than Southwest, at least for economy class passengers without frequent flyer status.
If you want no-frills in the US, try Spirit. The following require an extra fee:
Carry-on bag in overhead compartment.
Checked bag.
Pre-assigned seat before check-in.
Boarding pass printed at the airport (kiosk or agent -- higher fee at agent).
Snacks.
Drinks.
Unintended consequences of DOT regulations charge.
I flew Frontier once and they charge $5 more for a carryon bag than for a checked bag. This is for a bag you would put in the overhead bin. Not sure how they police it.
I didn’t pay extra to choose a seat. On one flight, it was so empty that they let us all move as long as we didn’t take a premium seat. They had drink and snack packages that seemed reasonable.
In short, it was fine. But it was also a short flight. Not sure if I could cross the pond that way!
Mine was a little bit longer than across the pond. We flew 10+ hours non stop from Oakland to Barcelona and return. It was pretty cold in the cabin, I did, however have brought some light towel to cover my body.
I just flew WOW Airlines from Copenhagen, with a connection in Reykjavik, back to the States. I booked the seat at the last minute after the legacy airline I was booked on had a very long delay which would have caused me to miss two connections and I had to get back due to a work commitment. While WOW was very basic (everything including your carry-on is an added fee) the planes were new and very comfortable, the service at the gate and on the plane was efficient and friendly, and the price was EXCELLENT. I was very pleasantly surprised by my experience and would happily fly them again. Plus flying into to Reykjavik made me want to go to Iceland…It looked very cool!
Don’t fly Spirit or Frontier here. Both no frills…and sometimes not even a bargain since if your flight gets cancelled…there usually isn’t another one that day.
United and Delta have no frills ticket options. You have to be VERY careful even with the size of your carryon bag!
I was going to say spirit and they seem to cancel flights a lot and only have a flight or two on any given day so almost impossible to rebook - at least on route my D and her BF use.
When D was in England we looked at low cost flight for her to Dublin but found what OP did - it was at end of summer study so she had extra luggage - would have brought cost up to reg airline by the time we paid for checked bags and all other stuff. I think those flights are ok for trips where you travel with a backpack only.
Both my son and nephew are big users of the discount airlines like Frontier/Spirit/RyanAir/Norwegian domestically and abroad. They can be a great $$ saver. You just need to understand the charges and factor that in to the decision and cost. Great for weekend trips when you are traveling light. They haven’t had issues with cancellations at all.
Spirit nickle and dimes you to death. Expect to pay for everything other than your seat. I was going to an event–the whole point of my trip–and ended up paying for a flight on another airline because Spirit didn’t have any flights other than the one it cancelled. Never again.
I flew Allegiant once, it was so cheap and I didn’t do any extras. I read this almost a couple years ago, and I won’t fly discount airlines now. I love Southwest because of the 2 free bags and no change fees.
It may be a function of where D flies but have been overall disappointed in Southwest for price. It has only been worth it for long breaks where she needed to check bag. Otherwise it was rarely cheapest. Neighbors used Frontier to book flight to go see new grandchild because they could change the flight at no cost which helped since babies don’t always follow a schedule. D flew them once and said it was like sitting in Little Tikes plastic seats. She would only use them for short flights with very little luggage.
You definitely have to check the details. I was comparing WOW flight to Condor. But by the time I figured in the bag fees, it really wasn’t cheaper. Plus it required a connection, which on the return flight could have been tricky, if the first flight was late for any reason.
Condor was cheaper than Lufthansa. We didn’t get to pick our seats for free and the service wasn’t quite as good, and premium entertainment and headphones cost $, but we got there and back safely, and were able to save a lot of money, and fly nonstop without having to drive 6 hrs to the airport.
My daughter and I used Spirit for a last minute 2-1/2 hour flight because it was substantially cheaper than anything else. They charge extra for a carry-on but you are allowed a purse/small back pack that will fit under the seat at no cost so that is what each of us took. We were determined not to pay any additional fees and we did so. We packed very frugally and were fine for a 3 day trip. It seemed the seats were very small but it was a short flight. I probably would not do it again except if I saw substantial savings. For the trips we take, Southwest is always very competitive and we use them almost exclusively on domestic flights. I love their customer service. Our son used WOW from LAX to Denmark and saved quite a bit on his flight. He said it was comfortable and he had no problems, but he only took a backpack.
There are a number of discount airlines in Europe and Asia, for example Ryanair, Scoot TigerAir. I hear so many stories about poor service, unreliable service, extra fees, etc that I am not interested. You have to look at the ticket specifics to see what is what – true bare bones is not uncommon. One of my kids recently had a discount airline Asian flight booked and paid for by his company - no water available except for a fee on a 4 four hour flight. He was not impressed.
We flew Allegiant from Columbus OH to Savannah GA last year, nonstop, for $40 each, each way. We shared one checked bag ($25 I think). It was great, actually. Friendly service, new plane, on time, no hassle. I’d fly it again, all of Florida plus NOLA is priced like that from here.
It was pretty cold in the cabin, I did, however have brought some light towel to cover my body.