The Rise of Low-Cost Airlines: Are They Worth It?
Traveling abroad, especially by plane is often seen as a luxury and privilege. However, the start of Low-Cost Airlines has provided an opportunity to fly abroad to a broader range of people who might not have been able to afford it otherwise. As the demand for short-haul flights, (basically, any flight that flies under three hours) increased, Low-Cost Airlines such as Wizz Air, Ryanair, or EasyJet have become significantly more popular.
- 2024-05-29
- 10:40 AM GMT

The start of Low-Cost Airlines
The start of Low-Cost Carriers (LCC) in Europe began together with the final deregulation of the market during the 1990s. The deregulation allowed airlines to decide their prices and destinations. Before the deregulation, this was strictly controlled by the government.
Nowadays, LCC offers a variety of affordable destination options. It is good for those who are looking for affordable flight tickets for their vacation. It may also be beneficial for those who often have to travel for work as LCCs usually operate a lot of flights.
Destinations and prices
For example, Ryanair offers up to 235 destinations. Lufthansa offers up to 229 destinations. These airlines offer a similar amount of destinations, although Lufthansa does have more options for flights that are outside, while Ryanair operates flights mostly in Europe.
Full-service airlines such as Lufthansa, British Airways, and Air France are probably more suited to travel across continents. Of course, you can still travel across Europe with these airlines as well, however, the price will be much higher than flying with a Low-Cost Airline.
Let’s look at the prices, for instance, a one-way direct flight ticket for one adult departing on June 1st with Ryanair from Frankfurt to Barcelona would cost only €31.60, while the same flight Lufthansa prices start raging from around €250. The price difference is more than €200!
In my own opinion, the time spent on a plane is only a fraction of your journey. I believe it is worth taking into consideration that the amount of money you would normally spend on a flight ticket with a full-service airline, could be budgeted into something else, for instance, better accommodation, and more options for entertainment or food. If you choose to fly with a Low-Cost Airline, you’ll spend less. Evaluate what your priorities are for your journey and decide what works best for you.
Here is what other claim administrators at Skycop think about Low-Cost Airlines:
Do you think it’s worth flying with Low-Cost Airlines and why?
- Adelė says she has flown with Low-Cost Airlines and only had issues maybe once or twice, “but it’s not the end of the world. I would fly again. The prices are cheap,” she added.
- Marija thinks it is important to take into regard what is the purpose of your journey due to the possible disruptions. “If you are traveling for work, to an important meeting or something similar and those couple of hours of delay are crucial, I would not recommend flying with such an airline. But if you’re flying for a vacation and you don’t mind getting to your destination a few hours later than scheduled then I would say it’s worth it.”
- Darija says if a low price is something important to you and possible disruptions will not influence your journey, it is worth it.
- Augustė thinks it is worth it if you go to a close destination, this way, you will not have to spend your money on a connecting flight, because Low-Cost Airlines do not have connecting flights. With connecting flights, there can be a lot of inconveniences. Let’s say your flight got disrupted, it’s very likely that if the first one is disrupted, you will have to spend a lot of money on the second one. However, suppose your flight with a Low-Cost Airline was disrupted due to a fault of the airline. In that case, you can get compensated with more amount of money than you paid for the ticket because the price of the ticket does not influence the compensation amount. It is one of the best ways to travel around the world cheaply and enjoy other pleasures, food, visiting beautiful places, etc., than spending money on flight tickets.
Misconceptions about Low-Cost Airlines
Indeed, LCCs do not have connecting flights. Travel agencies will often sell two separate flight tickets to a further destination, disguising it as one journey, when in reality it is two separate journeys, beware of this.
Some other misconceptions about LCCs are that they are unreliable and unsafe or that the customer services are poor.
The main idea of LCCs is to reduce airfare costs by providing fewer traditional services such as in-flight snacks, and free checked luggage, meaning that you would have to pay extra for these services. Of course, not all customer experiences might be great but that goes for all airlines, not just LCCs. All airlines are constantly striving to improve their services, customer support included.
A Low-Cost Airline is just as safe as a traditional full-service carrier. LCCs must adhere to strict safety regulations and standards set by aviation authorities in the countries where they operate.
No airline is safe from disruptions. Unfortunately, sometimes they are just unavoidable. Understandably, a disrupted journey is very stressful and inconvenient but remember, you can get compensated if your flight has been canceled or delayed by more than 3 hours!
Your flight – our fight!