Hidden Fees on Budget Airlines: Avoid Surprises

The Anatomy of a Budget Airline Fee Structure

Budget airlines build their revenue on a principle economists call price discrimination: charging each customer the maximum they will pay for each component of the journey. The base fare captures the most price-sensitive travellers, while fees on bags, seats, meals, and airport check-in extract additional revenue from those who either need those services or fail to read the fine print before booking.

The result is that the true cost of a budget flight depends almost entirely on your behaviour at the booking stage. A passenger who packs a personal item only, checks in online 48 hours before departure, and brings a snack from home may pay exactly the advertised fare. A passenger who books a checked bag at the airport, selects a seat, and eats onboard may pay two to three times the fare shown on the search engine.

Regulatory requirements in the European Union (under EU261/2004 and related guidelines) and the US (DOT full-fare advertising rules) have forced airlines to display total prices including mandatory taxes before payment. However, optional fees — which is how airlines classify baggage — remain deliberately obscure on booking flows designed to maximise add-on attachment rates.

Baggage Fees: Where the Biggest Surprises Hide

Ryanair distinguishes between a small personal item (40x20x25 cm, free) and a cabin bag (40x20x25 cm plus larger items require a Priority or Plus fare add-on), and a checked bag. As of 2024, a 10kg checked bag booked online costs £10–£25 depending on route and time; the same bag at the airport check-in desk costs £40. A 20kg bag booked at the gate costs £60. These prices update frequently, so always verify on Ryanair's bag fee page at the time of booking.

Spirit Airlines charges for carry-on bags that go in the overhead bin — one of the most frequently misunderstood policies in US aviation. A standard carry-on booked during the initial booking process typically costs $35–55; booked post-purchase, $45–65; purchased at the gate, $65–100. A personal item that fits under the seat in front is always free. This means a solo traveller on Spirit can travel carry-on-free for considerably less than competitors, provided they pack into a small backpack.

Frontier Airlines operates similarly, with carry-on fees ranging from $39 to $79 depending on when you buy. However, its Discount Den membership (around $59/year) includes a free carry-on for the member on every flight, which quickly pays for itself. Allegiant and Sun Country use comparable structures. In Europe, Wizz Air's policies have tightened since 2022: only one small personal bag is free in basic fare tiers, and priority boarding is now required to bring a cabin bag into the overhead bin.

Weight limits matter as much as size limits. easyJet allows a 15kg cabin bag for passengers on higher fare tiers but only a personal item on the lowest. A bag weighing 23kg on a carrier with a 20kg limit typically incurs a £12–£40 excess weight charge at check-in. Always weigh bags at home; a luggage scale costs under £10 and pays for itself on the first trip.

Seat Selection Fees and How to Avoid Them

Seat selection is optional on all budget carriers but the default allocation for free passengers is often deliberately unattractive: middle seats, rear rows near lavatories, and in Ryanair's case, rows 16–33 (the last rows to board). Ryanair charges £4–£8 for a standard allocated seat and £10–£24 for extra-legroom seats at exit rows or the front of the aircraft. easyJet charges £4–£15 depending on seat and route.

The key insight is that free seat allocation is random at online check-in, which opens 30 days before departure for standard fare holders. If you check in the moment check-in opens, a reasonable proportion of decent seats remain unclaimed. For a solo traveller on a short flight, accepting a random seat and setting a phone alarm for 30 days pre-departure is a legitimate money-saving strategy. Couples and families travelling together will nearly always find it worth paying £8–£15 to sit together rather than risk being separated.

Exit row seats on budget carriers are often genuinely worth paying for on flights over two hours. Ryanair's exit row seats provide approximately 34 inches of pitch compared to 30 inches in standard rows — a material improvement for passengers over six feet tall. However, passengers with mobility issues, those under 15, and pregnant travellers are prohibited from these seats, and airlines actively police this.

Check-In Fees and Boarding Pass Charges

Ryanair charges an airport check-in fee of £55 per passenger if you arrive without a printed or mobile boarding pass. This is the single most notorious fee in European aviation and generates substantial accidental revenue each year. The solution is straightforward: check in online between 48 and two hours before departure and save the boarding pass to your phone's wallet app. Do not rely on a screenshot; Ryanair's QR codes are scannable from the wallet app but not always from a screenshot depending on screen brightness.

Some budget carriers, including certain Wizz Air fares and older Spirit bookings, have charged document fees for passengers who need a boarding pass reprinted at the airport. Always bring a charged phone or a printed boarding pass as backup. EU261 and US DOT rules do not exempt airlines from these fees — they are a legitimate optional service charge.

Priority boarding is sold as a convenience product but on Ryanair and Wizz Air it doubles as the only way to reliably bring a larger cabin bag onboard. Without priority, overhead bin space may be exhausted by the time standard boarding passengers board, forcing bag-gating — the airline checks your cabin bag into the hold at no charge but with no guarantee of prompt delivery at a busy airport.

Payment, Booking, and "Convenience" Fees

Credit card fees were banned within the EU and UK under the Payment Services Regulations, but budget airlines have responded by making debit card or prepaid card payments standard and charging credit cards as a "commercial card" fee of 2–3 percent. In non-EU markets, Ryanair and Wizz Air still charge per-passenger booking fees on some payment methods. Using a Mastercard debit card almost universally avoids these surcharges.

Travel insurance upsells during the booking flow are aggressively presented and automatically pre-ticked on some platforms — though this practice is now illegal in the EU. Always manually deselect insurance if you have existing coverage through a credit card or annual travel policy. Budget airline insurance products are typically more expensive and less comprehensive than standalone policies from comparison sites.

Car hire and hotel cross-sells during budget airline checkout are almost never the best price. Ryanair Cars and Wizz Air's car rental pages mark up rental prices by 10–30 percent compared to direct booking through Rentalcars.com or the rental company's own site. The same applies to transfers, hotels, and activity bookings. Use the airline checkout purely for the flight and handle ancillaries separately.

Calculating the True Cost Before You Book

Before finalising any budget airline booking, add up the following: base fare + taxes + any mandatory fees + your specific baggage needs + seat selection if required. For a typical Ryanair London–Barcelona booking with one 20kg checked bag added online, one allocated seat, and online check-in, the actual cost in 2024 was approximately £89 each way, not the £22 advertised base fare. A Vueling ticket on the same route with a 23kg bag, seat, and meal included was £105 — a difference of only £16 for a substantially better experience.

Comparison tools like Google Flights now show "total price with typical fees" for many routes, although these estimates are based on average behaviour rather than your specific needs. The most reliable method remains going directly to the airline's booking flow and pricing your specific requirements before comparing alternatives. A full-service carrier with a generous free baggage allowance and included seat allocation is often cheaper in total cost than a budget carrier once fees are added, particularly for leisure travellers with standard checked luggage.