There is no doubt that the emergence of low-cost airlines into the travel market has had a

huge impact in our society. They were conceived as a revolutionary option for travelling and
indeed, airlines such as “Ryanair”, “Vueling” or “Easy Jet” have became successful very quickly,
challenging the leading positions of competitors by offering economical travel. As a result,
nowadays a greater number of people have the chance to travel almost anywhere for amounts
as insignificant as $1. However, some downsides may not be fully explained. The question then
may be, are we really getting a good deal out of this?

As said above, the greatest benefit has to do essentially with the low-rates set by these low-
cost airlines. In fact, booking early can result in savings of 50% or even higher. Moreover, huge
discounts and promos are offered constantly at specific times of the year. Furthermore,
spending such a small quantity on the flight also involves saving money for the vacation itself
or for putting the money into cultural activities at your destination. On the whole, this would
appear as good value for money.

Perhaps most importantly, passengers should consider many factors before trusting these
airlines. They do not usually realize the hidden costs included in the fare -hidden fees, taxes
and added expenses among others-. Besides, many low-cost airlines may also require buying a
return ticket, which might be more expensive.

To make matters worse, space in the plane is usually smaller. Meals and drinks… ( I don’t
understand the correction; you have written down an additional cost for baggage… / which
results in … (I don’t understand what you have written) for- I don’t know where does this
sequence go) are and passengers need to pay for basic things like water. Also, flights might
land at secondary airports that usually have low-quality public transport- for instance, instead
of arriving at Fiumucino, Rome, low-cost planes arrive at a secondary airport with no public
bus to the city and passengers need to rent a taxi or a mini bus.

Regarding personnel in low-cost airlines, working conditions are known to be poor: low
salaries, long hours and precarious work contracts. As the sociologist Hochschild (1983) posits,
people that work with people need to perform “emotional work”, which means faking positive
emotions, like interest and joy, and suppressing negative emotions, like anger. This emotional
work is particularly intense in the case of low-cost airline. Compared to other jobs, flight
attendants have more contact with passengers, and for longer periods of time. They need to
cope with exhausted often cranky passengers, usually annoyed and irritated by the limitations
in space, time and satisfaction of their needs.

Furthermore, a flight attendant’s working schedule is uncertain, often involving might-shift

assignments and time-zone changes. Flight attendants have to control their overt behavior and
private emotions in order maintain positive interactions with colleagues and passengers. This
kind of emotional control is dictated by the job performance rules of the company, and
attendants are required to adjust their emotions to the requirements of the job or what we
previously called “emotional labor”. Engaging in emotional labor over an extended period of
time may cause emotional labor overload and make adjustments to work demands difficult.
These processes are reinforced on low-cost intercontinental airlines flights (Bennet, 2003).
But perhaps most importantly, as travel has become more widespread, many, notably younger
travelers, are happy to suffer what they consider a few minor discomforts for the sake of
saving. On the other hand, contrary to the popular belief and due to the strict international
and national laws and rules that regulate the operation of commercial flights, the fleet of a
low-cost airline need not be subject to poor security or safety hazards.

All things considered, the popular Spanish proverb “buying cheap is false saving” effectively
expresses a commonplace truth: what at first seems cheap turns out to be expensive.
Additionally we must not forget that the main purpose behind these airlines is making a profit
at any price, so in one way or another and although we are told that they are low-cost, they
will always try to get the best deal out of us. All in all, sometimes the best option would be to
trust more reliable companies and just try to avoid (at least, if it is possible) these “low-cost”
airlines.