Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet and Frontier — flown the way frequent flyers do.
Six habits that keep a budget-airline ticket cheap all the way to the gate: which bag actually needs to be paid for, which "convenient" airport adds an hour of transfer time, when to check in, how boarding works without an assigned seat, what you can bring onboard for free, and when the flexible fare is worth the extra money.
This isn't a carrier directory — see European Airlines and the other continent pages for that — and it isn't a baggage-dimension chart, which lives on Baggage. It's what changes the final price after you've already booked: fees, timing and fare choice, airline by airline. Verified against each airline's own published terms as of August 2026 — fees and fare rules on these carriers shift often, so double-check anything time-sensitive before you book.
One small bag (roughly 40 × 20 × 25cm) that fits under the seat ahead — no charge, ever.
10kg wheelie bag
Add-on, not included on the cheapest fare
Sold as "Priority & 2 Cabin Bags" — roughly €6–€36 at booking, €20–€60 if added later, and about €70–€75 if you're caught without it at the gate.
Buy it early: Priority is capped at 95 passengers per flight and can sell out on busy routes — another reason to add it at booking rather than the week before.
One small bag, max 45 × 36 × 20cm, under the seat ahead.
Large cabin bag (56 × 45 × 25cm, 15kg)
Paid add-on on Standard fares
Priced dynamically by route and date, and must be bought online before travel — an unpaid oversized bag is gate-checked for about £48.
Common mix-up: Up Front and Extra Legroom seats stopped including a free large cabin bag in 2023. It's included only with a FLEXI fare, easyJet Plus membership, or the Standard Plus bundle.
The one thing Frontier never charges for. Frontier gate-checks with physical sizers, so precise packing matters.
Carry-on / first checked bag
Never free, on any fare
Roughly $29–$69 booked in advance, $79–$92 at the counter, and $99–$115 at the gate — paying at booking is routinely a third of the airport price.
Personal-item-only strategy: packing everything into the free personal item and skipping a carry-on entirely avoids the fee altogether — it's the core Frontier tactic, and the same one that used to define flying Spirit before Spirit ceased operations in May 2026.
Roughly 30–40 miles NE of central London. Stansted Express train, 47 min, from £9.90 booked ahead — or National Express coach from £7 (slower).
Luton (LTN)
Roughly 35 miles N. Luton DART shuttle (4 min, £4.90) to Luton Airport Parkway, then Thameslink to St Pancras (~30 min, £15.10–£19.50) — two separate fares.
Southend (SEN)
Roughly 40 miles E. Greater Anglia train to Liverpool Street, 52–58 min, from about £13.40.
Heathrow (LHR) — for comparison
Roughly 15 miles W. Elizabeth Line ~28–40 min (£15.50 flat), Heathrow Express 15 min (from £10 booked ahead), or Piccadilly line ~50 min (£5.90 contactless — the cheapest option).
Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air all fly some London routes from Stansted, Luton or Southend rather than Heathrow — check which airport your fare actually lands at before booking a hotel or onward transport.
Beauvais (BVA)
Roughly 85km N of Paris — genuinely remote, not a quick taxi ride. Official shuttle bus to Porte Maillot, 75–90 min, about €17 one-way. Book online in advance; walk-up buses can sell out around peak flight banks.
Charles de Gaulle (CDG) — for comparison
Roughly 25km NE. RER B train, about 40–50 min to central stations, roughly €12–14 one-way.
Ryanair and Wizz Air's "Paris" routes commonly mean Beauvais, not CDG — the shuttle bus alone can take longer than some of the flights themselves.
Frankfurt-Hahn (HHN)
Roughly 115–125km W of Frankfurt — not the same city in any practical sense. FlixBus/Flibco shuttle, about 2h10, roughly €17–20 one-way (cheaper booked online than bought from the driver).
Frankfurt Main (FRA) — for comparison
Roughly 12km SW. S-Bahn (S8/S9) directly to the city center, about 11–20 min, roughly €5.35–€6.90.
"Frankfurt-Hahn" is the single biggest name-trap in budget-airline booking — it isn't Frankfurt's airport, and the transfer alone can erase most of what a cheap fare saved.
Check in on time, or pay for it
4 airlines
Online check-in window
Opens 60 days before departure if you've reserved a seat; only from 24 hours before if you're relying on free random seat allocation. Closes 2 hours before departure either way.
Airport desk instead
£55 / €55
Charged per person, per flight, if you show up without checking in online. Ryanair has said app-only digital boarding passes from November 2026 should make this fee mostly avoidable — bring the app.
Bag-drop cutoff is currently 40 minutes before departure, moving to 60 minutes from 10 November 2026 at most airports.
Online check-in window
Opens 30 days before departure, closes 2 hours before.
Airport desk instead
No separate fee
easyJet's model is bag-drop based rather than a paid check-in product — but you still need a boarding pass on your phone or printed before you reach security.
Online check-in window
Opens 30 days before departure if you've already selected a seat, otherwise only 24 hours before. Closes 3 hours before departure — the earliest cutoff of the four airlines here.
Airport check-in/bag-drop
€13 pre-purchased online, €40–€50 at the counter
Opens 2 hours before departure, closes 40 minutes before (varies by airport). At the handful of airports without online check-in, airport check-in is free.
Online check-in window
Opens 24 hours before departure, closes 60 minutes before. Boarding itself closes around 20 minutes before departure.
Airport agent assistance instead
Up to $25 per passenger, per direction
Charged if you need a counter agent to check you in, print a boarding pass, or tag a bag by hand.
Boarding groups and the seat lottery
4 airlines
How boarding works
Two tiers: Priority passengers board first through a separate, faster lane; everyone else follows.
If you don't pay for a seat
Free random seat allocation. Since June 2026, a child aged 2–11 is guaranteed a seat next to one adult — the rest of a family may still be scattered unless you pay roughly €8–€30 per reserved seat.
How boarding works
Group 1 (Speedy Boarding) covers Up Front/Extra Legroom seats, easyJet Plus members, FLEXI/Standard Plus fares — and anyone who paid for a large cabin bag. Everyone else is Group 2, boarding in check-in order.
The cheap way into Group 1
Paying for a large cabin bag alone bumps you into Speedy Boarding as a side effect, without paying for a premium seat.
How boarding works
WIZZ Priority buyers get a dedicated, faster boarding lane. Families with children under 2 board free with priority (up to 4 adults per booking with two infants).
If you don't pay for a seat
Random assignment at check-in — Wizz Air explicitly does not guarantee travelers on the same booking sit together. Pay for seats if you're traveling as a group.
How boarding works
Zone is tied to fare bundle: Business boards first with a guaranteed empty middle seat, Premium boards early with guaranteed overhead-bin space, Economy/Basic board later from the back.
If you don't pay for a seat
Free random assignment at check-in — but travel companions can be split up across the cabin.
What you can bring onboard for free
Bringing your own food
Allowed on all four airlines — solid snacks and food bought before security are never restricted or charged for.
Liquids and drinks
Standard 100ml/3.4oz security rule applies to anything carried through the checkpoint. Drinks bought airside, after security, have no restriction.
Outside alcohol
Banned on Ryanair and easyJet — you may carry it, but can't drink any alcohol that wasn't served by the cabin crew.
Carrier-specific notes
Ryanair won't let passengers board with a hot drink. easyJet's UK→EU routes can't carry meat or dairy — a customs rule, not an airline policy.
Basic fare vs. flexible fare
4 airlines
What each tier adds
Regular: small bag + 10kg wheelie bag, a reserved standard seat. Plus: adds a 20kg checked bag and free airport check-in. Flexi Plus: any seat, fast-track security where available, free same-day change plus fee-free date/route changes.
When the upgrade pays off
Plus beats buying a checked bag and airport check-in separately if you're checking a bag anyway. Flexi Plus is worth it mainly for genuine itinerary flexibility, not for the cabin bag alone — Regular already includes that.
What each tier adds
Standard Plus (from about £7.99): large cabin bag, an Up Front seat, Speedy Boarding. FLEXI adds a hold bag, free seat choice, fast-track security, near-unlimited free date changes and a full cash refund.
When the upgrade pays off
The Standard-to-FLEXI gap varies hugely by route and demand — often £30–£50+. FLEXI is worth it mainly if you need genuine date flexibility; Standard Plus is the cheaper middle ground if you just want a seat and priority boarding.
What each tier adds
WIZZ Go: seat choice plus a 20kg checked bag. WIZZ Smart: adds the large cabin bag and priority boarding. WIZZ Plus: adds a 32kg bag, free check-in and WIZZ Flex — free date changes.
When the upgrade pays off
WIZZ Plus is usually worth it if you'd otherwise buy priority, a bag and seat selection separately — bundled, it typically undercuts the sum of the parts. Price gaps between tiers are route- and date-dynamic, so compare at booking rather than assuming a fixed spread.
What each tier adds
Economy: a carry-on bag, a standard seat, and no change/cancel fee. Premium: a premium seat and early boarding with guaranteed bin space. Business: two free 50lb checked bags and a guaranteed empty middle seat, boarding first.
When the upgrade pays off
Economy is the cheap way to remove change-fee risk. Business is worth it only if you're already checking two bags — otherwise à la carte add-ons on Basic usually cost less for a single traveler with one bag.