I Don’t Care How Cheap They Are, These 3 Budget Airlines Are NOT Worth the Chaos

With the seemingly ever-rising costs of air travel making flying more and more of an expense by the day, many travelers are choosing to fly on so-called “budget” carriers to save some cash. However, sometimes these discount flights are more trouble than they’re worth.

We polled members of our AllEars team and readers alike with a simple query about their WILDEST budget airline stories, and boy, are there some answers that may have you thinking about skipping out on these lines altogether.

Spirit

Let’s begin with Spirit, the longtime budget carrier that is seemingly always on the verge of going out of business. Judging by the stories some of our readers shared, it’s almost not hard to understand why. For example, as reader Kelly shared, “Once had a flight on Spirit that was delayed for two hours because the flight attendant didn’t show up.”

The flight that reader Suzie spoke about in their story did take off, but that led to some unfortunate bag issues. They vented, “My sister and her family took Spirit out of St Louis for a joint trip to WDW a few years back. Their luggage was checked in and never made it onto the flight. Each bag had an Apple AirTag. They landed in Orlando with only the clothes on their back. After three days of being on and off the phone with Spirit, refusing to acknowledge where their bags were, even though they could pinpoint the location in the STL airport, they finally reached one employee at the airport who tracked the bag down for them. They took several trips to Disney Springs for new clothes each day, as they didn’t find it necessary to buy an entire wardrobe after Spirit kept telling them bags were on their next flight.”

Finally, reader Paula shared a slightly more positive (?) Holiday-themed Spirit tale. They explained,  “I had a Spirit flight going from SC to Orlando to Disney around Christmas. Once in the air, the flight attendant passed out candy in a Santa hat while the captain started talking in Spanish, then translated into English, thanking us for booking flights to Cuba… then just laughed and gave the regular talk about going to Orlando.” However, as they went on, that practical joke wasn’t all, as Paula expanded, “Four days later on my return flight home on December 24th, our flight was 2 hours late because the plane crew and luggage crew were on the tarmac taking pictures with Santa. Needless to say, it was a fun two flights.” That’s certainly a word for it.

Southwest

Next, we have Southwest, an airline arguably better known right now for its copious rule changes than its fares.

Reader Terry shared a story regarding issues with flight cancellations that sounded like something out of Trains, Planes, and Automobiles, writing, “We took Southwest to Orlando in March. The return trip on 3/16 was canceled. It was spring break, no hotels available, no flights with anyone available. We had to rent a car to Atlanta to get part of our party home, the rest of us had to get a train to Mississippi, then get a car the rest of the way. Southwest gave us a voucher only. Which is no good because I won’t be flying Southwest ever.”

Meanwhile, Scott told us about a flight that was delayed… VERY delayed. They explained, “Southwest was running really late one night into this tiny airport. We landed and got to the gate, and they escorted everyone straight out the door, literally turning the lights out behind us. The airport was otherwise abandoned.”

Frontier

Frontier’s issues with rules were a sticking point with one of our team members. They opined, “Frontier can be SO STINGY/PICKY when it comes to your ‘personal item’ sizes. I’ve had bags charged by Frontier that’ve been fine and dandy and acceptable with several other airlines.”

Bag issues seem minor, however, compared to the story shared by Amanda, who called flying Frontier the “worst experience ever.” According to the reader, when their family – including a then-8-month-old – were waiting to board a flight to Central Florida from Nashville,  “a woman stepped out from behind the desk and said, ‘Any of you who are flying to Orlando with us, you just missed your flight.’ She was literally smirking as she said this. I looked at the clock, and it was exactly one hour and two minutes before our flight. It turns out, they have a fine print policy that if you are not checked in one hour before your flight, they revoke your tickets. Obviously, they do this so they can sell your seats again. First of all, what a horrible policy. Secondly, it was not clearly stated, but rather hidden in the fine print. Thirdly, she announced this two minutes early when we were about to check in, with a baby on my hip, no less. So of course, I tried to plead our case, even pointing out the time. There were several other people in line as well who were supposed to be on that flight. They would hear nothing from any of us, and honestly, they were so smug about it. They acted like they were waiting for this opportunity all day; they clearly were amused by the whole thing. No amount of pleading made the slightest bit of difference, even though they actually violated their own policy by cutting us off two minutes early. I was livid, and of course, concerned about caring for our baby. Further, we were meeting other family in Orlando, and also had reservations we would miss if we didn’t leave that day.”

According to Amanda, the family was able to book a last-minute flight with Delta — at a “huge cost” — and they’ve never considered flying Frontier again.

Before we wrap up, a final reader story that caught our eye. It can be tempting to think that stories like this are a sign of the modern “decay” of air travel. However, reader John shared a story from over 50 years ago that seems to imply that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

They wrote, “I distinctly remember flying Ozark Airlines in 1970 from Chicago to Champaign-Urbana airport. The fear on the stewardess’s face as we dropped toward the ground during a storm scared me more than the drop. I was told by the little old lady sitting next to me, holding the puke bag I was using, that it wasn’t any big deal. Happens frequently due to storms. The next time I needed to fly out of O’Hare, I took the train from Rantoul, Illinois, to Chicago. One trip on Ozark was ENOUGH.” If you’re curious, Ozark went out of business in 1986.

Next time you’re considering flying a budget airline, keep some of these stories in mind when figuring out if the savings are truly “worth” it. Stay tuned to AllEars for more travel coverage.

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What’s your go-to airline? Let us know in the comments below.

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