Marcus Webb
It is the norm for budget airlines to list fares in what would appear to be very cheap prices when initially published on their websites. After purchasing 40 individual return fares on Ryanair, Wizz Air, EasyJet and Spirit in 2014 and 2015, I am able to show how the ‘fees’ have increased on each of those airlines by a consistent margin. These costs can be seen individually for each of the 40 return flight bookings with a full fee breakdown for each individual airline. Some of the individual fees are not well understood by frequent travelers and whilst they can add to a considerable sum for some passengers, for others they could be so small as to be of little concern.
The published fare vs the booked fare
Published fare vs booked fare. In our 40 ticket rounds, the average difference between the fare price that had been published by the airline and the fare price plus fees actually paid by the traveler was 67 percent. This means that that cheap 25 euro fare on Ryanair actually cost 42 euros in total. The 49 dollar fare on Spirit actually cost 84 dollars in total. These price increases are greater on very short flights (less than 90 minutes) than on longer flights, since fixed fees (such as seat selection and baggage) are a greater proportion of very cheap fares. That’s why travelers who price out a flight in advance need to include in their travel budget the actual all-in fare price, not just the fare price published by the airline.
Ryanair’s hidden costs
Mandatory online check-in. Either check in online within 24 hours of your flight time or pay a 55€ reissue fee at the airport. Baggage. 10kg of hand luggage is 25-35€ per flight. No hand luggage? A single, small under seat bag. No bags at all? The other passengers can carry theirs for you. Seat selection. Choose your seat for 5-25€ per flight. You can also choose to have seats next to each other for your group for an additional charge, unless you book at the same time to have seats automatically assigned together. Some flights have some rows with extra leg room that can be selected for an additional charge. Airports change regularly. Routes change from one airport to another. If you book a flight to ‘Barcelona’, check the airport code. ‘Barcelona’ can mean Reus or Girona airports. Transfer costs between these two airports are 1 hour 50€.
Wizz Air and EasyJet patterns
The Ryanair fare beat for Wizz Air. As a rule of thumb, the fare for Wizz Air tends to be slightly cheaper than for Ryanair, however, be advised that the change fees for this airline are much more aggressive and customer service tends to be slower than at the other two. All in all, Wizz Air is best suited for passengers who are 100% sure of their itinerary. Among the European low-cost carriers, Wizz Air is the most budget-oriented. EasyJet is the most consumer-friendly low-cost carrier. Its bag policy is clear, its carry-on bag allowance is generous enough for more than a backpack, and customer service responds quickly. While EasyJet’s base fares are about 15-25% higher than those of Ryanair, once you add all the fees for both airlines, it often turns out that in the end, the total fare for a trip with EasyJet is lower.
Spirit, Frontier, and U.S. budget
Spirit and Frontier, two of the major budget airlines based in the U.S., have the most aggressive fee structure of all of the major airlines. That 50-pound or so of extra luggage in your car? That will cost you $50-$80 per leg to check, if you buy in advance. And don’t even get started on seat selection, which is mandatory on Spirit for parties of two or more. But the airline does offer a ‘big front seat’ that is worth considering if you’re tall. For people who travel with light bags and don’t need the extra legroom offered by the mainline carriers, Spirit will often be the cheapest option for a single leg of a journey. But for longer journeys or those with lots of luggage, the mainline carriers will likely offer a better fare for economy class. And on Spirit, if you miss a flight for whatever reason, the cost to you will be the full cost of the ticket for which you missed the flight. Spirit has some of the most restrictive change policies in the industry. I learned this from the owner of a hostel in Porto.
The fees nobody adds in advance
There are additional hidden fees like priority airport security, in-flight purchases, printing out boarding passes as opposed to completing online check-in and, possibly, buying a boarding zone.
When the budget fare actually wins
Budget airlines are best for short haul flights (under 90 minutes), light luggage (backpacks only), single flights and for travelers who arrive at airports with plenty of time to spare (2.5 hours before departure) and whose time is not worth wasting in case of a delay or a flight cancellation. On the other hand, budget airlines are less competitive on long haul flights, on connecting flights, on family travel with lots of luggage and when the time to recover from a delay is too precious to be wasted. The published fare is a good basis for price comparisons, but it is the all-in fare that should be compared in order to assess value.
