Are Budget Airlines Worth It? The Real Cost of Ryanair, Wizz Air & easyJet
The headline fare is only the start. Here's what flying Europe's big low-cost carriers really costs — and how to keep it as cheap as the ad promises.
· Captain Cheap
A €15 flight to another country still feels like magic — and Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet have made it ordinary. But the number that gets you to click is rarely the number you pay. The base fare is a floor, and everything above it is optional in name only. So are budget airlines worth it? Almost always yes — if you know where the costs hide.
The fare is the floor, not the price
Low-cost carriers strip the ticket down to a seat and nothing else, then sell back the "nothing else" one item at a time. That is the whole business model, and it is not a scam — it is why the base fare can be so low. The trap is assuming the advertised price includes the things a legacy airline bundles in. It does not, and the add-ons stack up fast.
Where the extras come from
The big ones, roughly in order of how often they catch people out:
- Bags. All three include a small under-seat personal item free. A larger cabin bag in the overhead locker costs extra on Ryanair and Wizz (via Priority), while easyJet's own rules on the larger bag vary by fare. A checked bag is extra on all of them — and cheaper added online than at the airport.
- Seat selection. Optional, but if you skip it you get a random seat, and a group travelling together may be split up unless they pay.
- Airport check-in. Ryanair in particular charges a stiff fee if you do not check in online and print or download your boarding pass first.
- Onboard food, and payment or booking fees. Small individually, real in aggregate.
Wherever you end up going, it pays to sort the basics early: book somewhere to stay while the good-value places are still free, and hire a car if you are heading somewhere the trains do not reach.
How to fly them for the headline price
The good news: every one of those costs is avoidable. Travel with only the free under-seat bag, check in online the moment it opens and save the boarding pass to your phone, accept the free random seat, and bring your own water and snacks through security. Do that and the €20 flight really is €20. It is worth reading up on each airline's exact carry-on sizes so your bag is not gate-checked for a fee.
When a full-service airline actually wins
Budget fares stop being cheap the moment you need what they charge for. If your trip requires a checked bag, a chosen seat and the flexibility to change, add those to the low-cost fare and compare the total against a legacy carrier — which often includes a bag, flies from a more convenient airport, and protects you on connections. On a longer trip, or one where a connection is unavoidable, the "expensive" airline can quietly be the cheaper, calmer choice.
Budget airlines are worth it — enormously — for the traveller who packs light and books smart. The fare is honest; you just have to read the whole menu. Know the rules, bring only what flies free, and the low-cost promise holds.
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