7 Things to Know Before You Fly on a Budget Airline

If you’ve read any of my other posts, you know that I LOVE to fly.

I love having to pack up everything for my trip into a single suitcase or two rather than giving in to the urge to bring a bunch of totes and duffels. I love getting snacks or shopping for overpriced, generic souvenirs at the terminal. I love the buzz of excitement, people rushing around to catch a flight for vacation or work. I really love hoping on a plane and just a few hours later arriving at my destination.

Don’t get me wrong, road trips are great. But while my travel time might not be limited, my loved ones and friends don’t have the same luxury.

When we only have a few days or a week for our vacation, I hate wasting even half of one of those days in the car. Unfortunately, flying isn’t cheap. Or at least, it isn’t always cheap.

How I First Learned About Budget Airlines

Growing up, my parents always talked about a big trip they took to Arizona before I came along. They dreamed of taking us back. But spending a few hundred a person for the four of us to fly out and back was out of reach. Until it wasn’t.

As a freshman in college I started shopping around for flights to see if we could make one last big family trip happen. That’s when I learned about budget airlines. Among the $400+ flights from Cincinnati to various cities out west, I found a $120 flight to Las Vegas. A few months later, the four of us were able to fly out and spend two weeks exploring the spots my parents visited 20-some years before.

I was hooked.

Since then, I’ve flown dozens of times on budget airlines. And while flying budget airlines has allowed me to see the country for less, it does come with a learning curve.

If you’re ready to travel more and spend less, keep reading to learn 7 things you need to know about flying on budget airlines.

1. There are Always Extra Fees

If you live in a city where Allegiant, Spirit, or WOW Airlines lands, you’ve likely seen their billboards advertising flights for $39, $99, $120, etc. Log onto the websites for any budget airline and you’ll see similar fares advertised.

But try to actually book your flight, and these numbers will quickly disappear.

For starters, these are their lowest advertised fares. For the most part, they’ll be flights on weekdays, at odd times, or during months that aren’t considered popular vacation times.

These are also their fares before fees are added. And when it comes to budget airlines, there are a lot of fees.

If you want to choose where you sit, you’ll pay for your seat. Want a larger seat? That’ll cost more. You’ll pay for each bag you bring beyond a single purse or small backpack. Even choosing to print your ticket rather than pulling it up on your cell comes with a fee.

But while those fees can raise that base fare quite a bit, budget flight tickets often still come in several hundred dollars cheaper than other airlines. Those other airlines are still charging those fees. But rather than charging them separately, many airlines include them in their base fare.

2. The Seats are Smaller

Seats on airplanes on all carriers have been shrinking ever since air travel started increasing in popularity in the 1970s. Seats used to be 18 inches across, with a seat pitch, or the distance from a seat to the one in front of it used to be as much as 35 inches.

Now, many airlines have seats that are 17.5 inches across with a seat pitch of about 31 inches. On budget airlines, they’re even smaller. But maybe not by as much as you think.

On Spirit Airlines, the seats are an average of 17 inches across with a pitch of 28 inches.

Personally, I’ve never had a problem with the seats on budget airlines. I’m 5’6″ and 130 pounds. But I’ve traveled with family members who are a bit larger and have never had a problem.

Twice, I’ve paid for larger seats on Frontier because the flights were gifts for friends. In both cases, I was left feeling like I should have saved the money; I didn’t notice much of a difference compared to a normal seat. But the seats I opted for were in emergency exit rows, and larger seats are available at the front of all budget airlines.

3. Bag Restrictions are Tight

As I mentioned, you’ll pay extra for any bags beyond a small personal item on all budget airlines. The costs vary, but one thing that doesn’t change is the tight restrictions.

All airlines provide a maximum size and weight on all checked and carry-on baggage. But on a budget airline, that weight limit could be as low as 40 pounds. Start tossing jeans and sweater, souvenirs, and toiletries in your bag, and you’ll reach that number fast. One checked bag and one carry-on could easily cost you $100 or more.

If you’ll be traveling longer than a few days and think you’ll need multiple suitcases, you might want to weigh the cost of adding these bags to the cost of a ticket on airlines like Southwest, where you’ll get a few bags included in the cost of your ticket.

But I can say from experience that smart packing can help you get around these restrictions.

When I went to D.C. during the Bomb Cyclone last year, I packed only thermal leggings and long sleeve tees for each day of the week. Then, I wore the same Patagonia vest, lightweight down jacket, and heavy down coat over top. I wore those three items on the plane and packed the rest. All of my clothing and toiletries weighed about 8 pounds total. This left the rest of my 40-pound bag empty for my brother, who’s heavy jeans took up the rest of the weight.

4. Ticket Counters Aren’t Open 24/7

There doesn’t seem to be much information on the web about whether carriers like Delta or American Airlines keep their ticket counters open at every airport around the clock. But I do know that Allegiant, Spirit, and Frontier do not.

One way these airlines cut costs is by only opening ticket counters when the carrier has a flight leaving that airport within 2 hours. Show up more than 2 hours before your flight needing to check your bag, and you’ll be stuck on the outside of security until that time.

This may not matter to most travelers. But if you know you’ll need to be dropped off at the airport hours before your flight leaves, this might be something to consider.

5. Double Check Your Airport Code

Earlier this year, I got excited about a conference I was going to and the fact that I thought I might be able to squeeze in a visit to Disney (I did-check it out here!). I ended up shopping for a flight around 4 a.m.

When I woke up the next morning, I started shopping for rental cars. That’s when I realized I’d booked that the airline code for the flight I’d booked wasn’t MCO, it was SFB. I ran a quick Google Map search and realized that I wasn’t really flying in Orlando, I was flying into Sanford, nearly an hour outside of the city.

Luckily, I had plenty of time to get where I needed to go and I was renting a car anyway, so the distance wasn’t an issue. But it certainly could have been.

If a city has more than one airport, budget airlines may operate out of smaller regional airports as opposed to major international ones. Or they may operate out of both. Be sure to double check the airline codes before you book your flight.

6. No Free Snacks Here

One rather notorious downside to budget airlines is the lack of free snacks and drinks. Not even stale pretzels come free when you’re paying pennies on the dollar for your flight.

That said, are you really going to miss those free snacks? Probably not. You can still buy snacks, although I recommend packing your own if you’re on a budget!

I am guilty of always buying snacks when I fly Allegiant Airlines though. They sell a kids snack box that comes with a pilots wing pin that I simply can’t resist! They remind me of flying to Disney World as a kid!

7. Budget Airlines are Very Safe

Like any good internet rumor, the idea that budget airlines cut costs by skimping on safety is backed by plenty of tall tales. Fortunately, the stories are just that.

The reality is that the FAA heavily regulates all airlines, regardless of the cost of their flights. Each plane, pilot, and staff member of every airline flying in and out of the U.S. has to meet the same safety regulations.

In fact, a number of low-cost airlines, including JetBlue and Virgin America, have never had a fatal accident. That gives them some of the best safety records across any airlines, budget or otherwise.

Booking Your First Budget Airlines Flight

If I’ve successfully convinced you that budget airlines are the best thing since sliced bread, it’s time to start shopping.

One other difference between budget airlines and luxury lines is when they list their flights. While you may be able to book your Delta flight six months or even a year in advance, many low-cost airlines like Allegiant and Frontier don’t list flights until about three months out.

Finding those $300 flights to Europe or $70 getaways to Florida doesn’t require the help of a travel agent or even any savvy web searching. My favorite way to shop for flights is actually Google Flights–all you do is go to the Google search tab, type in “flight from (origin city) to (destination city), and you’ll get a handy search tool that compares flights across a variety of airlines. You can even look to see the cost of those flights each day, specify the time of day you want to travel, and more.

I have noticed that Southeast Airlines doesn’t list its flights on this search engine tool. But all of my favorite airlines do, so this doesn’t bother me!

Whether you’re looking for more travel tips, need some help finding your next cheap flight, or want to learn more about how I travel full-time as a digital nomad, drop your name and email address below to receive my weekly newsletter packed with exclusive content!