Explain the discount airline process. It doesn’t seem cheaper when you end up paying for carryons and checked bags?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had friends recommend Play Airlines for Paris and London. Rates are like $87/pp. when I add in carry on’s and checked bags for our family of five, we end up over $3k.

What’s the way to work the discounts with airlines like this? Not to bring much?

It still works out cheaper, but honestly, these airlines aren’t really for you if you’re traveling as a family with carry-ons and checked bags. At least you’re not going to see the insane savings that they advertise.

I’ve done many transatlantic flights on WOW, Norse Atlantic, and French Bee, and the way to realize the savings is (1) to travel alone (or at least, not care at all where you’re seated/whether you’re seated with traveling companions - so not ideal for families with young children), (2) definitely no checked luggage, (3) ideally no carry-on (I have a roomy weekender bag that counts as a free personal item), but you could pay the $150 extra RT for it if you needed to and still come out ahead. I pay the base fare and that’s literally it.

That said, I generally do transatlantic trips on low-cost carriers as long weekends, travel alone or with one other person (no kids), pack lightly in general (the max I ever bring on a long trip is a carry-on), and don’t care where I sit. So I’m the ideal demographic to extract value from these kinds of airlines.

Also, if you are considering Play for a peak summer family trip, consider that these airlines typically don’t have inter-airline agreements where they can rebook you on a different airline if their flight is delayed or canceled, and typically don’t offer the same flight every day like a full-service carrier. This can be a problem if you have a layover and the first flight is delayed, or if the flight gets canceled for some reason. So if the final price difference works out to a few hundred dollars per ticket vs. a full-service airline, it might be better for you to spend the extra and go with that.

Also, Play already dropped their Dulles flight for 2025, and has said they will be further cutting US airports over the course of 2025. Significant chance a BWI summer booking could be cancelled in the next month or two.

https://crankyflier.com/2024/10/24/play-airlines-plans-to-play-in-the-sand-instead-of-the-states/[/quote

Thanks PP! Good to know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had friends recommend Play Airlines for Paris and London. Rates are like $87/pp. when I add in carry on’s and checked bags for our family of five, we end up over $3k.

What’s the way to work the discounts with airlines like this? Not to bring much?

It still works out cheaper, but honestly, these airlines aren’t really for you if you’re traveling as a family with carry-ons and checked bags. At least you’re not going to see the insane savings that they advertise.

I’ve done many transatlantic flights on WOW, Norse Atlantic, and French Bee, and the way to realize the savings is (1) to travel alone (or at least, not care at all where you’re seated/whether you’re seated with traveling companions - so not ideal for families with young children), (2) definitely no checked luggage, (3) ideally no carry-on (I have a roomy weekender bag that counts as a free personal item), but you could pay the $150 extra RT for it if you needed to and still come out ahead. I pay the base fare and that’s literally it.

That said, I generally do transatlantic trips on low-cost carriers as long weekends, travel alone or with one other person (no kids), pack lightly in general (the max I ever bring on a long trip is a carry-on), and don’t care where I sit. So I’m the ideal demographic to extract value from these kinds of airlines.

Also, if you are considering Play for a peak summer family trip, consider that these airlines typically don’t have inter-airline agreements where they can rebook you on a different airline if their flight is delayed or canceled, and typically don’t offer the same flight every day like a full-service carrier. This can be a problem if you have a layover and the first flight is delayed, or if the flight gets canceled for some reason. So if the final price difference works out to a few hundred dollars per ticket vs. a full-service airline, it might be better for you to spend the extra and go with that.

Op here. Thanks PP! I’m realizing this as well, it wouldn’t be the dramatic savings many have been mentioning in our friend/colleague group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had friends recommend Play Airlines for Paris and London. Rates are like $87/pp. when I add in carry on’s and checked bags for our family of five, we end up over $3k.

What’s the way to work the discounts with airlines like this? Not to bring much?

How many bags are you checking and carrying on?

I usually do one carry-on per person and three - four checked bags. Kids are one teen, two little kids.

[Anonymous]

Op again. Thanks again to all PPs for all the replies/comments.

I don’t in general mind budget airliners - FWIW I’ve never actually flown business or first class in my entire life. We stay in budget hotels which we have no qualms about. So pretty generic family travel on our end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I fly frontier sometimes because they have direct flights to Denver from DCA. If I could get away with just bringing a small backpack, it’s super cheap.

That’s exactly what I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had friends recommend Play Airlines for Paris and London. Rates are like $87/pp. when I add in carry on’s and checked bags for our family of five, we end up over $3k.

What’s the way to work the discounts with airlines like this? Not to bring much?

How many bags are you checking and carrying on?

I usually do one carry-on per person and three - four checked bags. Kids are one teen, two little kids.

That comes out to be about $285 per person in luggage. I've never flown Play Airlines, but have flown Frontier (because they DCA-DEN is convenient for us) and have never paid anywhere near that. A checked bag is $70 and if everyone is checking a bag no need for a carry on.

[Anonymous]

pack light OP--there's plenty of articles and blogs about how to do it. You can buy clothes in Europe for cheaper than the baggage fees. Domestically you can fedex a suitcase for cheaper than a Frontier/Spirit baggage fee. The major airlines to Europe in the summer are $$$ as others have mentioned, you're not going to find 5 people for 3000$ very easily...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had friends recommend Play Airlines for Paris and London. Rates are like $87/pp. when I add in carry on’s and checked bags for our family of five, we end up over $3k.

What’s the way to work the discounts with airlines like this? Not to bring much?

Can you fly 5 people to Paris for $3k on Air France or United? Not in the summer you can’t.

+ 10000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had friends recommend Play Airlines for Paris and London. Rates are like $87/pp. when I add in carry on’s and checked bags for our family of five, we end up over $3k.

What’s the way to work the discounts with airlines like this? Not to bring much?

How many bags are you checking and carrying on?

I usually do one carry-on per person and three - four checked bags. Kids are one teen, two little kids.

That’s quite bit. We travel with a roller board that can be a carry on OR checked and we each have a backpack that goes under the seat in front of us. We don’t need a carry on and a checked luggage. How long are your trips?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had friends recommend Play Airlines for Paris and London. Rates are like $87/pp. when I add in carry on’s and checked bags for our family of five, we end up over $3k.

What’s the way to work the discounts with airlines like this? Not to bring much?

How many bags are you checking and carrying on?

I usually do one carry-on per person and three - four checked bags. Kids are one teen, two little kids.

That’s quite bit. We travel with a roller board that can be a carry on OR checked and we each have a backpack that goes under the seat in front of us. We don’t need a carry on and a checked luggage. How long are your trips?

I meant, DH and I each have a roller board as well as our kids who are older now. They split a roller board when they were little.

[Anonymous]

I have flown multiple times with Play airlines with my family. The "personal item" that is included is essentially the size of a small carry-on. We maximize the size of our personal items, use compressible packing cubes, and have paid for an extra carry-on to share for a few extra things (sometimes we pay for one just one the return and pack a compressible bag if we know we plan on buying stuff). That is honestly plenty for us and I hate having to carry too much stuff. We don't pay for specific seats and they always sit us with at least one child and when I fly alone with my two kids, they sit me with both (no extra cost). We pack sandwiches, snacks, and extra battery packs/tablets loaded up and we are golden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have flown multiple times with Play airlines with my family. The "personal item" that is included is essentially the size of a small carry-on. We maximize the size of our personal items, use compressible packing cubes, and have paid for an extra carry-on to share for a few extra things (sometimes we pay for one just one the return and pack a compressible bag if we know we plan on buying stuff). That is honestly plenty for us and I hate having to carry too much stuff. We don't pay for specific seats and they always sit us with at least one child and when I fly alone with my two kids, they sit me with both (no extra cost). We pack sandwiches, snacks, and extra battery packs/tablets loaded up and we are golden.

Their website lists it as 42x32x25cm, or about 16x12x10 inches. That's not a "small carry-on", that's about the size of a mid-sized backpack. This "underseat" bag, for instance, is over an inch too wide.

https://shop.samsonite.com/luggage/underseat-luggage/spinner-underseater-with-usb-port/1129341717.html?gQT=1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve had friends recommend Play Airlines for Paris and London. Rates are like $87/pp. when I add in carry on’s and checked bags for our family of five, we end up over $3k.

What’s the way to work the discounts with airlines like this? Not to bring much?

How many bags are you checking and carrying on?

I usually do one carry-on per person and three - four checked bags. Kids are one teen, two little kids.

That’s a lot! We flew with camping gear (tent, etc) and everything else we needed for 5 people last summer & only took 3 checked bags & backpacks (personal items— no carryon bags).

If you need a lot of bags, the budget airlines likely won’t save you money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have flown multiple times with Play airlines with my family. The "personal item" that is included is essentially the size of a small carry-on. We maximize the size of our personal items, use compressible packing cubes, and have paid for an extra carry-on to share for a few extra things (sometimes we pay for one just one the return and pack a compressible bag if we know we plan on buying stuff). That is honestly plenty for us and I hate having to carry too much stuff. We don't pay for specific seats and they always sit us with at least one child and when I fly alone with my two kids, they sit me with both (no extra cost). We pack sandwiches, snacks, and extra battery packs/tablets loaded up and we are golden.

Their website lists it as 42x32x25cm, or about 16x12x10 inches. That's not a "small carry-on", that's about the size of a mid-sized backpack. This "underseat" bag, for instance, is over an inch too wide.

https://shop.samsonite.com/luggage/underseat-luggage/spinner-underseater-with-usb-port/1129341717.html?gQT=1

DP. I think the PP is more referring to the size of the bag they will typically let through in practice rather than the exact measurements on the website. I’ve done a lot of flying on Spirit and various transatlantic budget airlines and in my experience (seems like PP’s also) if it’s a weekender-type shoulder bag, even if it’s a bit bigger the exact specifications, they’ll let it through as a personal item. My bag has never been stopped.

It probably is a best practice to exactly follow the measurements and expect a stickler gate agent (or be prepared to pay for a carry-on at the gate) but my bag has never been questioned in at least 20 individual flights. The bag I have is definitely bigger than a backpack; it fits up to a week’s worth of clothes, a few pairs of shoes, toiletries/makeup, and a laptop.

[Anonymous]

I just wear ALL my clothes 😄