With New DOT Rulings, Are Budget Airlines Worth It Now?

The news has been popping off in recent months with budget airlines slashing their fees for changes and cancellations. 

Don’t get it twisted: In most cases, legacy airlines like American, Delta, and United have the creature comforts that most travelers are looking for. However, in June we found a $207 roundtrip nonstop flight to Barcelona from the East Coast on Spanish low-cost carrier Level, and it got us thinking: At that low of a cost, would it be worth it to sacrifice some of those comforts, like included in-flight meal service? 

Many travelers don’t give a second thought to budget airlines, but our nuanced policy on budget airlines runs deeper. In some cases, it really can make sense to fly with them. Now, we’re shedding some light on why you might want to consider a budget airline yourself when shopping around for flights.

What is a budget airline? 

A budget airline—also called a discount airline or low-cost carrier (LCC)—operates with an emphasis on minimizing operating costs for the airline, which may secondarily lead to lower costs for travelers. Examples of budget airlines include Spirit, Frontier, JetBlue, Breeze, and Avelo within the US, as well as Ryanair and Wizz Air in Europe. 

In order to achieve those low-cost base fares, budget airlines sacrifice certain traditional airline luxuries—things like included carry-ons, seat selection, and free changes. Instead, they’ll offer these options at an additional cost. This allows them to advertise extremely low base prices (i.e. the price that you’re seeing on Google Flights or another flight search engine) compared to legacy carriers and other competitors. 

Many of these airlines operate with a point-to-point model, connecting travelers directly between their origin and destination (e.g. Breeze), rather than within hub-and-spoke networks, which connect passengers through a hub (e.g. Delta). While budget airlines usually offer more nonstop options, they also have smaller potential networks in comparison to legacy airlines. 

Are budget airlines low quality? 

Not necessarily! A good example of a higher quality domestic budget airline is Breeze. They operate with a good onboard experience and product offering, are fairly priced, have a variety of nonstop or one-stop options, and the price to add a carry-on or checked bag is reasonable. 

Internationally, budget airlines PLAY and Norse are similar; when they run sales from their US airports to destinations in Europe, it can be cost-effective if you aren’t traveling for long and can pack light. Their in-flight offerings are different from carriers like American, Delta, and Icelandair; however, if price is your main focus and you aren’t as concerned with in-flight offerings, seat pitch, and additional baggage fees, it can be worth it. 

It’s also important to note that when you book a LCC ticket with all of the extras (luggage, food, seat selection, free changes, and more), it can actually be cheaper than booking basic economy with a legacy carrier where you get none of those things. (This is especially true when it comes to long-haul international routes.) It isn’t true 100% of the time, but it happens enough to where if you have a choice, it’s worth comparing the price of both options.

This is an example of a bundled LCC ticket where you receive hand baggage, meal service, priority boarding, baggage hold, seat selection, and fee changes on a flight from New York City to Barcelona with Level. 

And here, you'll see the same route but with a legacy carrier; the cheapest option is basic economy, which includes none of the frills, and the ticket still costs more than the one above that flies with Level. 

Here’s a breakdown of what’s included on standard base and bundled fares for LCCs and ULCCs (ultra-low-cost carriers) in comparison to legacy airlines for short-haul domestic flights.

*Spirit includes free ticket changes up to an hour before departure; Frontier is 60 days before.

Note: Spirit and Frontier flight estimates in the chart are based on routes from LAX–SEA (Spirit) and LAX–PHX (Frontier), both roundtrip. Prices vary by route and time of planned travel.

And here’s a breakdown of what’s included on standard base and bundled fares for LCCs and ULCCs in comparison to legacy airlines for long-haul international flights (some including premium economy). 

*For ULCCs, exact costs will vary based on a given route. The chart reflects prices for routes from New York to Barcelona or London for all airlines (depending on availability) except for Cathay and Zipair, which are operated primarily from the West Coast. In this case, LA to Tokyo was represented by Zipair, and Seattle to Taipei City by Cathay Pacific.

What’s changed with budget airlines? 

Over the past several years, the US Department of Transportation has put pressure on airlines to eliminate junk fees, going so far as to publish rules that would protect travelers by ensuring they know the full price of airline tickets—including fees for baggage, changes, and cancellations—before they buy. Some budget airlines have already implemented changes as a way of gaining trust with travelers.

We’re also seeing airlines, such as JetBlue, trying to branch out from their budget mold by including carry-ons in the cost of tickets starting on September 6, 2024. These types of changes introduce more competition as travelers consider their options when choosing an airline. 

Should you book with a budget airline?

In spite of these changes, it’s important to consider a few things when choosing between a budget airline and a legacy airline. First think: What is the priority of your trip?  

If these things are important to you, you may want to consider a legacy airline: 

• Earning points, miles, or rewards
• Flight network (how many places can you get to, either on a nonstop, one-stop, or two-stop flight)
• Alternate flight options (if your flight gets canceled, they’ll be able to put you on another one)
• In-flight offerings (sometimes…more on that below)

If these things are important or apply to you, you may want to consider a budget airline: 

• Low cost (obviously)
• Nonstop flight (thanks to its point-to-point model)
• It’s a shorter trip—think less than a week (aka you won’t need a lot of luggage) 
• In-flight offerings (again, sometimes)

When it comes to in-flight offerings, we’ll reiterate: Legacy carriers typically have a leg up here. While budget airlines do offer tickets with included bags and seat selection, they may come at a price. 

However, the same can be said for basic economy tickets with a legacy airline. Book anything above basic economy and those offerings are often bundled into the cost, removing some mental burden for the traveler. Therefore, buying a ticket based on in-flight offerings should be determined on an airline-to-airline basis (and further varies from class to class). 

At the end of the day, budget airlines are best for travelers who are price conscious, aren’t traveling that long (and can therefore get away with just a personal item or carry-on), and for whom the in-flight services aren’t as important. 

For short-haul domestic flights, it can be easier to stomach a smaller seat or less legroom, as it’s over relatively quickly (especially on nonstop routes). For long-haul international flights, it comes down to the comforts you’re willing to forfeit in order to save money that you can turn around and spend at your final destination.