Why Are Some Flights So Cheap? Here's How Budget Airlines Price Tickets So Low

When it comes to air travel, booking flights online is the best way to catch a deal. It's common practice to use multiple travel search aggregators at once so you can compare several flight options and combinations simultaneously. Some of the more popular flight search platforms include Google Flights and Skyscanner, two picks that are not only very easy to navigate but are also known to provide a robust selection of flights, based on testing. They both also have AI functionality that can potentially make it possible to book flights quicker using precise travel search prompts.

If you use one of these websites to book a trip, you may notice that compared to most of the flight segments offered, there may be a couple listed that are priced below the norm. These flights are most likely serviced by budget airlines like Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines, to name a few. How are these companies able to offer discounted plane fares?

By definition, a low-cost carrier (LCC) is an airline that regularly offers cost-effective flights that do not include a list of services traditionally built into standard plane ticket prices. Let's take a deeper look into how seemingly affordable flights are able to show up on your travel searches online.

The very foundation of LCCs is that their pricing structure starts with a bare-boned fare that doesn't include any form of service. You basically only pay for your seat initially — as you go through the flight-booking process, your chosen LCC will offer you everything else you may need as an add-on for pay. This gives the passenger the freedom to essentially pick and choose all the components of their flight, prioritize services that are important to them, and ditch the ones they don't really need for the trip.

Should you decide to forego these extras in order to come out ahead financially, there are a number of basic things you won't have access to. For starters, you likely will not be afforded free in-flight snacks, meals, or beverages. In-flight entertainment will also be limited or not available at all, and you won't be able to choose your seat. For air travel that spans three hours or less, these offerings may not be a loss — you can bring your own snacks in your carry-on or download offline content on your mobile device. And unless you're a tall person who requires extra legroom, assigned seating shouldn't be a deal-breaker for short flights.

Other add-ons may be a bit more essential to you than others, such as priority boarding. You may also need to pay extra for access to Wi-Fi. In addition, standard ticket prices normally include at least one free checked bag. Budget airlines do away with that, so those who travel light have the option of just having a carry-on bag and saving money in the process. In some cases, printing your boarding pass has an added cost as well, but most budget airlines offer a mobile boarding pass via their own app.

Budget airlines typically only operate one type of aircraft, which in turn can minimize the company's expenses for maintenance and staff training. This ties in with the tendency of LCCs to schedule flights back-to-back — usually direct flights only — for the entire day, which leads to shorter downtime and increased earning. In most cases, discount airlines also fly into secondary, less busy airports because landing fees are lower. Furthermore, the number of in-flight crew is kept at a minimum, which in turn reduces payroll costs.

If you've ever flown on a budget flight, you may have noticed that more often than not, the flight is fully booked, and every seat is taken. This is likely due to dynamic pricing, a business model that adjusts prices based on demand in real-time. Many airlines employ it to sell as many plane seats as they can. As a result, you may find that there are certain days when flight prices seem to work in your favor more.