Are Low Cost Airlines Worth it?

Do a Google flight search and the lowest fares come up. But what is included in those fares. Usually, nothing. Which really leads to the question. Is it worth it?

Depends on how far you’re going and how long you will be gone. It also depends on if you are willing not to have a changeable ticket. That latter one is a big deal to me. The super-low fares are almost never refundable nor changeable. Life happens. I’d like to get a flight at least, even if I have to pay a change fee.

SouthWest in the US is one of the few that does. But that might even be changing too. Not that Southwest has been in the discount airline business for years. Their prices are the same as the other Legacy carriers.

But start to add up the fees on a discount airline like Spirit or Frontier and you get to the same price as a legacy carrier regular economy flight. If you are traveling with any more than one person, watch out. You are going to get nickel and dimed.

As I said, I chose a better economy ticket based on the change fees and policy. As a perk, I usually get the carry-on bag, seat selection, and sometimes even a checked bag. So to me, it is worth it. But the prices these days have me thinking about the cheap airlines. I’m not opposed to it. I need to steel myself for the experience. Some folks are really good at that. And it falls into my idea that I would rather spend more at a destination than getting there. So, I should really rethink my approach.

Is it worth it? Yeah, for a short flight of four hours or less. Any more than that, and I’m going to be thinking about taking a legacy carrier. I’m lucky that I live in Colorado, in the middle of the country. Four hours will get me to the four corners of the USA.