When looking for plane tickets taking me to, for me, unknown parts of the world, I of course tend to come across airlines I have never heard about, some of them low-cost ones as well. This in turn makes me feel like checking the reviews of these airlines – definitely from a safety point of view, but also how rigid I can expect them to be… Because we all know there are rules, rules and more rules we have to follow to be able to enjoy the perk of a low cost. So, to maybe make it a bit easier for others, who are faced with the same concerns, to choose what to go for, I decided to accumulate (and keep doing so) a list of low-cost airlines I have used, and am happy and not so happy with. Note that I have followed all the rules that apply as best as I could, and that I have not been on long haul flights. Here goes!
Thumbs up:
- Norwegian I fly a lot. It is one of the two major airlines in Norway. No issues, but I refuse to try long-distance as they have had several problems with these flights, people being stranded for days. Legroom can be on the smaller side, but I am short, so I manage on shorter flights.
- Kulula was my choice going from Cape Town to Durban in South Africa. No problems at all. Loved their aircraft safety card 😀
- AirBaltic I have used a few times, going to Riga in Latvia and Tallinn in Estonia from Oslo, Norway. First time I didn’t know it was a low-cost airline. No problems at all.
- Jetstar took me around Australia. No issues.
- AirAsia I travelled on from Yangon in Myanmar to Bangkok in Thailand. Had to repack a couple of kilos at check-in, otherwise ok.
- Sky Airline I heard about for the first time from a reader leaving a comment – thanks BilingualGirl! When I needed to go from Santiago to Punta Arenas in Chile, they were the cheapest, and very cheap. I upgraded to the ticket category that included 1 checked bag, as it was cheaper to do that than add a bag to the cheapest rate. Thumbs up for this one too!
No thumbs:
- Ryanair I flew from Barcelona to Las Palmas in Spain and back again. I made sure to follow all their rules. Out of the low-cost airlines I have travelled with so far, they are the ones with most things one has to remember to do before boarding, and I think it is a bit too much. Had to repack a kilo at check-in. The bright yellow in the cabin was striking (hate it!), and I felt like there were a lot of stuff they wanted to sell me during the flights. Otherwise ok.
Thumbs down:
- Spring Airlines I flew from Shanghai, China, to Hong Kong. On approaching the aircraft, by bus, I started having doubts. You could see rust around the “bolts”, and the whole thing just looked worn out. Thought this might be Chinese standards, until I saw the face of my fellow travellers, Chinese they looked like. They were just as shocked as me, and even though I don’t understand a word Chinese, I knew this was not good. The insides didn’t look to tempting either, like something from the 80’s. Not doing this one again!
If you have any experiences from your travels, I would love to be enlightened in the comments below – so I know what to do when in the same “predicament”!
Saving money on low-cost airlines, might make you able to sometimes splurge on a Business Class experience. However, never use Gotogate! And be nice 🙂 Btw, remember the perks of a window seat – the wonderful aerial views!
That’s interesting to hear about Norwegian as it’s an airline I’ve considered for flights to Los Angeles. I didn’t hear that about people being stranded for days! RyanAir is the only airline that flies to the region where my husband is from so we fly it pretty often and it’s true, so many rules to remember and keep up with as they also keep changing! #CityTripping
A friend of mine flew Norwegian to Los Angeles last summer, and was fine. Problem is that when you’re delayed, you don’t have any options as they don’t cooperate with any other airlines. In addition they are bad at communicating with the passengers, so people don’t get any info at all or are just told to wait for updates. People have been stuck in LA for 2-3 days. I can do Ryanair as a “last resort” 🙂
That’s a really useful idea – I tend to look at low-cost airlines more for city breaks than other trips too, and there are definitely ones I prefer to others. I’m flying Ryanair this month for the first time in well over 5 years, purely as it’s the only option, so am waiting to see just how that goes! Thanks for linking up with #citytripping
Good luck with that! It has been a while since I did Ryanair too, maybe things have improved 🙂
I like Ryanair actually, I flew with Easyjet too and Vueling and German wings and Wizz air:) you get what you pay for soo… 🙂 #citytripping
For me Ryanair is something I can do, but I’ll consider many other options first. It is the only low-cost that I have flown that has reminded me of low-cost. Are EasyJet, Vueling, German Wings and Wizz Air (have heard of them all) very much like Ryanair or do they have less things you need to abide by? I definitely don’t mind budget travel, as long as it is not too much hassle.
They are all pretty much the same
thanks!
Sky Airlines and Andes Líneas Aéreas are two low-cost airlines that are very popular here in Argentina/Chile. I work for them, just in case you venture to this part of the world sometime, and need any info 🙂
Thank you so much for this!! Perfect timing 🙂 I am actually hoping to be off to both Argentina and Chile next year.
Woohoo! Let me know if you need to know anything 🙂
I most likely will 🙂 Thank you so much!