Flying Cheap Airlines: How Much is Your Comfort Worth?
Travelers around the world make the choice every time they book a flight to prioritize saving money or their time and comfort. Many travelers make that choice early on and stay loyal to a single or group of specific airlines that are either in the luxury or cheap airline categories or even somewhere in between.
Airlines that are regarded as being “nicer” include amenities for their passangers including more comfortable seats, free overhead bin storage with ticket, and sometimes inflight meals.
Travelers that choose to fly inexpensive airlines at the risk of flight delays, lost luggage, or other mishaps have reported both positive and negative experiences as a result.
Video taken by Jacqueline Trujillo documenting her experience flying from Naples, Italy to Marsaille, France with Ryanair.
Among European travelers, Ryanair has been the source of a lot of discontent due to frequent delays before the flight or even once it has landed. Ryanair is commonly used because of its extremely low prices. Ryanair keeps prices so low because it functions by only spending on the bare minimum. Travelers save money but are subjected to longer lines due to fewer employees, smaller seats that are closer together, no free overhead baggage, and more.
Ryanair is also popular because it reaches a large variety of destinations throughout Europe and some outside of Europe.
The benefits of cost savings paired with Ryanair’s far reach throughout Europe has made Ryanair a popular choice among American students studying abroad in Europe.
Perspectives on flying cheap airlines in Europe from students Maddie Scharm, senior at Indiana University and John Garcia, junior at University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
“Once when I was flying from France to Denmark with Easyjet, my flight was delayed seven hours. The worst part was that they didn’t tell me about the delay until I was checking in my bags at the airport. My friends and I had to wait at the airport for seven hours!” Shannon Will, University of Wisconsin study abroad student, said.
I also studied abroad this past semester. For the most part, I chose to fly the cheap airlines to save money due to the frequency with which I was traveling. I found that the more I traveled with inexpensive airlines like Ryanair and Easy jet, the more terrible flight experiences I collected and the more I dreaded traveling.
In the future, I would opt to pay more for a flight for a better experience, especially if I am traveling less frequently. Comfort and peace of mind while traveling is worth more to me than the money I save by flying cheap airlines.
