Budget airlines – setting a new era in flying?

Budget airlines – setting a new era in flying?

As air travel gets cheaper, budget airlines’ popularity is going sky high. Obviously, with airfares going as low as 10euros, who’s not snapping tickets fast especially in this economic recession? Although many budget airlines cut cost by doing away with inflight food(non-existent) and having tighter seat spaces, it hasn’t stopped travellers from taking them. These days, some even implement ridiculous measures like coin-operated inflight toilets or even paid check-in luggage.

I personally dig budget airlines – not for incessant flight delays, or the hassle of fighting for the best seat; but simply for the irresistable fares. Cheapest tickets I’ve snapped? 20euros for a 3-hour return tickets from Madrid to Oslo! 15euros for a 1-way ticket from Berlin to London!

Here’s a list of budget airlines just for those who dig budget airlines as much as I do. Click on the links to see their websites.

***Highly recommended airlines

Europe

Easyjet *** – best option! flies to everywhere you can imagine.
Fly Monarch*** – spacious airplanes, best value for money!
RyanAir – cheapest but also the worst with delays.
BMI Baby – UK based, cheap beach packages.
Click Air – based in Spain, cheap tickets to Northern Europe.
My Air – based in Italy.
Smart Wings – based in Czech Republic.
Sky Europe – from Slovakia.
Thomson Fly - UK based, cheap packages to beaches in Spain & Greece.
Transavia – Dutch owned, not too cheap.
Vueling – based in Spain.
Wizz Air – based in Hungary.

North America

JetBlue*** – fly all over US for as low as $99!
AirTran*** – flies all over US and Central America.
Frontier – flies from Denver to the East & West coast, Mexico & Costa Rica.
Allegiant Air – covers many parts of N.America.
SouthWest Airlines – one of the most famous budget airlines.
Westjet – Canadian airline flying to Central America.
go! – Hawaiian airline that flies from one island to the next.

South America

Viva Aerobus*** – based in Mexico.
Aires*** – Argentinian airline that flies all over South America & Spain.
Ocean Air – Brazilian domestic airline.
Webjet – Brazilian domestic airline.
Mexicana Click – Mexican domestic airline.
Volaris – cheap domestic flights within Mexico.
Easy Fly – based in Columbia, domestic airline.
Avior Airlines – based in Venezuela, flies to Miami. No online booking.

Asia

Jetstar***-cheap fares to Asia & even Australia! best option in Asia.
AirAsia**- cheapest tickets, but many delays.
Tiger Airways – based in Singapore, great bargains.
Lion Air – Indonesian airline that flies to S’pore, Vietnam & Malaysia as well.
Cebu Pacific – Filippino budget airline flying domestic & all over Asia to China & Taiwan.

Australia/New Zealand

Jetstar Australia
Virgin Blue – reasonable airfares from Aust to NZ, Fiji & Soloman islands.

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Ryanair- A pound for a pee

March 15, 2009 · Recommendations, Short Getaways, Travel News, Travel Tips

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19 Responses to “Budget airlines – setting a new era in flying?”

Brian on March 16th, 2009 3:33 pm

Really useful list for anyone considering global travel, especially when saving $'s is so important )
Alex Berger on March 16th, 2009 5:01 pm

Fantastic! Great to have them all in one spot like this. Thanks for putting this together!
» Budget airlines are a vagabonder’s best friend :: Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog on March 18th, 2009 1:00 pm

[...] why I was glad to see the list of budget airlines that WildJunket.com has compiled—a good portion of which I’ve never heard of before. [...]
Nellie on March 18th, 2009 2:53 pm

Thanks guys for the comments! Without budget airlines, what are we gonna do?!
dlc on March 25th, 2009 1:33 am

There are two great german budget airlines you missed: germanwings.com and tuifly.com – both of them may be very useful (and cheap) for flights from and to Germany.
Carrie on March 27th, 2009 9:07 am

Air Asia is great for cheap flights, especially when they feature their million-free flight deals. We took advantage of this a year ago, and ended up getting nine super cheap flights all around Asia. Gotta say, I'm a big fan of budget airlines.
Rich on March 27th, 2009 10:28 am

I think Virgin America is the best thing going in the US. Love their attention to detail…and cheap fares.
http://www.virginamerica.com/va/home.do
Austin on March 30th, 2009 2:14 pm

This is a great list, very useful to anybody out there planning a trip.
Seth Hosko on March 30th, 2009 6:43 pm

I would also add Nokair to the list – believe they fly out of Bangkok. Same prices as Airasia, but the experience is much nicer.
Petites annonces on April 4th, 2009 12:31 am

Niiice post thanks so much for this useful info
Canadian Coins on April 11th, 2009 8:00 pm

I actually enjoyed this. Added a subscription to your feed.
petites annonces on April 12th, 2009 8:29 am

nice post realy this is great we like to touch and see some articles like this ..
admin on April 13th, 2009 11:49 pm

hey Allison, many thanks for subscribing to my feed!
7 Steps to Sustaining Long-term Travel | Wild Junket on April 14th, 2009 12:12 am

[...] to travel around the region. This way, you get to see as much as you like in the continent, using budget airlines, stretching over a longer period of time. Working in Europe also allows you to take up to 2-3 [...]
Are Vacation Packages Cheaper than Airfares? | Wild Junket on September 26th, 2009 7:21 pm

[...] Budget airlines – setting a new era in flying? [...]
Martino on November 13th, 2009 3:55 pm

Great start at listing World budget airlines. A few comments (at least on Europe): Clickair merged with Vueling, SkyEurope and MyAir went bust months ago. Have a look at the up-to-date list on http://www.whichbudget.com … and keep up the good work!
Gary on December 11th, 2009 4:24 pm

Hi, i totally agree budget airlines rock!! They are great for people like me who are young and are wanting to travel the world on a Buget. I live in England and Europe is at my doorstep and that all down to these airlines, i would never of had the oppotunity to have visited all these amazing place. Long live the budget airlines!!
Driving Abroad: Tips and Anecdotes | Wild Junket on January 22nd, 2010 10:05 pm

[...] travellers from the UK, budget airlines provide tons of alarmingly cheap airfares, but the tricky part usually lies in getting to the [...]
Budget Travel: 8 Penny-Saving Tips | Wild Junket on February 28th, 2010 7:01 pm

[...] Budget airlines have definitely changed the way we travel these days, a Ryanair flight can costs as low as 5GBP if you’re luck enough to snap it. Make sure to check out every airline and last-minute travel deal when booking your trip. Online travel coupons are also getting more popular, offering generous discounts off vacation packages or airfares. These websites provide promotional codes that you can use when reserving your flights, to enjoy savings off your travel budget. [...]