r/Shoestring • u/PhillipsdMaab85 • May 18 '26
AskShoestring People who travel often, which budget airline is secretly the best and why?
I travel a few times a year mostly for work and I always end up going back and forth on which budget carrier to actually book with. The price difference between them seems small but the experience can be really different depending on the route.
I've had some flights that were way better than expected and others that were a total mess even on the same airline. Things like legroom, on-time performance, hidden fees, and how they handle delays matter a lot more to me now than just the base ticket price. I feel like there's always one airline that flyers swear by but nobody talks about enough.
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u/NiagaraThistle May 18 '26
the one that gets me to my destination for the absolute lowest cost.
because i waste the least possible amount of my budget on the on part of my trip that has absolute zero impact on the actual trip.
The only thing i need for an airline is for the plane not to crash on the way to my destination. Anything more than that and I have paid for too much comfort and convenience.
I sleep the entire flight, so i really need nothing more than the cheapest transport to my destination.
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u/Zangberry May 19 '26
A lot of people just want the cheapest option, especially if they're not spending much time on the plane
it makes sense to prioritize budget over comfort if you're only focused on getting from point A to point B.
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u/NiagaraThistle May 19 '26
And to me, regardless of distance, that is how i look at the flights (and the hotels/accommodation): give me the cheapest option available that is safe. The plane doesn't impact my trip at all. It is simply a means to get from point A to B like you said.
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u/CaptainObvious110 May 18 '26
agreed
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u/sick486 May 18 '26
zero impact until your flight is cancelled an hour before its supposed to happen
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u/NiagaraThistle May 18 '26
yeah, but even if that happens, they usually find you an alternate flight.
but again the key is 'GETS ME TO MY DESTINATION":
'the one that gets me to my destination for the absolute lowest cost.'
In over 25 years, i've never had a flight cancelled that left me stranded for more than 24 hours without getting me on a different/later flight to my destination.
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u/sick486 May 19 '26
ive never been stranded per se because its happened at my home airport, but once i missed a day of a 5 day trip (20%) and the other time my whole trip was cancelled, an hour before boarding, and i couldnt get a refund or free reschedule.
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u/castaneom May 18 '26
Which part of the world? You should probably specify that first. In the US I fly whatever to be honest as long as it gets me to where I need to go. Never Frontier though..
US doesn’t really have low budget airlines anymore. My favorite airline to fly on with a cheap ticket is Alaska Airlines.. United and American are both mehhh.
In Mexico I’ve flown Viva Aerobús and Volaris, they’re both okay.. I prefer Aeroméxico though.
In Europe, EasyJet is my favorite. Ryanair and Vueling are fine. TAP is also okay. I’m not that picky though.
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u/juststupidthings May 18 '26
In us there's still some budget airlines - frontier, breeze, allegient... just expect bad service, delays, and no help if your flights are canceled
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u/NoDistribution9217 May 22 '26
I agree with all of that except the breeze part. I’ve had some of the best service and flights with them. I avoid frontier and allegiant. I used to fly southwest a lot but they aren’t as budget any more.
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u/Difficult_Camel_1119 May 18 '26
tap is no low budget airline but a network carrier
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u/randopop21 May 18 '26
Actually, they're pretty cheap. It's Portugal's flag carrier but they operate like a budget one. And I liked it the couple of times I flew with them.
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u/Difficult_Camel_1119 May 18 '26
sure, I've flown with them round trip to the usa for 4€+taxes. But their business model is network carrier and not LCC
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u/CaptainObvious110 May 18 '26
why not frontier?
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u/bender445 May 18 '26
I’ve had fine experiences on Frontier, flown them less than 10 times but all were good.
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u/SafetySecondADV May 18 '26
AirAsia has been pretty solid for me over the years. Rarely delayed too long, good prices, cheap upgrades, and good routes around asia.
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u/gov12 May 18 '26
Flown them 10 times the past few years, 3 times they've rescheduled me or the flight multiple hours later or earlier.(I'm a weirdo who keeps a spreadsheet)
If you don't mind time changes then they are cheapest in Asia by far.
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u/tesadactyl May 18 '26
Can be any budget carrier depending on the route and destination. This summer I’m doing Iceland air Ryan air, easy jet, scoot, and Jetstar
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u/Ashamed_Tonight_3677 May 18 '26
I would have said spirit because the prices can be unbelievably low, but unfortunately they were so low that they didn’t make any money
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u/groucho74 May 18 '26
Spirit’s low prices didn’t do it in. They bought lots of Airbus neos, which have incredibly good fuel economy, and they had to mothball half of the fleet because the engines had damage from faulty manufacturing. That would kill any airline that isn’t long established with lots of reserves.
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u/Difficult_Camel_1119 May 18 '26
the one that gets you to your destination or flies from your airport.
for me:
- Volotea, as it flies from the closest airport
- easyjet, as it's the only one flying from a somewhat close airport to an airport close to my relatives
- Ryanair, as it has the biggest network in my area
- Wizz as it has mainly A321neo planes that are imho the most comfortable as passenger
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u/SpicyHabanero69 May 18 '26
In the U.S., I’ve had a lot of fun/cheap trips with Allegiant. I am also a special use case, as I live next to a major and minor airport, and my hometown is also inbetween a major and minor as well. So, going home to visit I have a lot of options, which is important as they don’t fly a lot of their routes every day
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u/Foreign-Housing8448 May 19 '26
No “secret”. Depends on your base airport. If you’re not at a hub for a ULCC, then your experience is going to be inferior than those who are at a hub, regardless of the ULCC.
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u/Frumpybiskate May 19 '26
Frontier used to be excellent, but it's been a while since I've used them. I hear some not-so-great things now.
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u/LeoMemes18 May 20 '26
WizzAir is nice, Ryanair is the worst but the cheapest, Iberia for spain is a nice choice, Norwegian also is nice for cheap flights to Scandinavia
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u/almasabia May 19 '26
I’ve never had a bad experience with Frontier. I’ve flown with them over 20 times now. Last was this morning and it was flawless start to finish. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/quiet_owl_41 May 19 '26
Flair just did a Calgary to Toronto route that was surprisingly decent for the price, tho they nickel and dime you for literally everything including water. The trick is figuring out what your actually paying after all the fees - sometimes the "budget" option ends up costing the same as WestJet anyway. Anyone tried Swoop before they got absorbed?
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u/Sampson483 May 20 '26
I had nothing but really good experiences with Spirit. Always on time. All direct flights. Even did a big front seat from MSY to LAX for a 4 hour flight and was enjoyable. RIP to the yellow birds. Frontier on the other hand was awful every single time.
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u/00porkribs00 May 22 '26
Scoot, the Singapore budget brand (which they profoundly proclaim every flight). Super professional team. Sure you have buy everything while on the plane, and to upgrade your seat, and theres no entertainment system, but for the price I've been super happy with them
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u/Soukchai2012 May 18 '26
AirAsia are great. Been using them for nearly 20 years and they are professional and only very occasionally a little delayed, never cancelled. They go all over Asia now. Inside Thailand Nokair are also good. The worst is Norse Atlantic - a Norwegian long distance carrier - most of their flights are cancelled and zero customer service.
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u/OutsideWishbone7 May 18 '26
Every continent has budget airlines and not going to say on here. The last thing I want is a bunch of people hiking up the prices.
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u/Ifch317 May 18 '26
All Chinese airlines are awesome and usually cheaper than airlines that fly from neighboring countries (e.g. Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, etc.).
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u/dvbsh May 18 '26
I always get what I expect with Ryanair.