$99 flight to Europe? Here's what it really costs
We all love great deals to Europe, and how Norwegian Air has pushed airfares down for international travel, flying shiny new Boeing Dreamliners nonstop from an increasing number of U.S. cities. But older airlines such as British Airways, Delta and American aren’t taking the competition lying down, and when you add in fees for bags there's not always a lot of difference in fares. In fact, you might end up paying less on the larger carriers when all is said, done, and paid for.
First up, Norwegian charges $130 round-trip for a checked bag on long-haul flights.
Hand baggage isn’t charged, however the size on Norwegian’s lowest airfares is limited to 21 x 15.7 by 9 inches and 22 pounds. British Airways, in contrast, allows cabin luggage to weigh up to 51 lbs and measure 22 x 18 x 10 inches on any economy class airfare. So if a gate agent at Norwegian weighs or measures your bag, and it’s over the limit, into the hold it goes and that will be $130 please.
If you think airlines don’t weigh cabin bags at check in, you’re right some of the time. I was recently caught on an Air Berlin/Alitalia codeshare flight at check in and my carry-on bag was subjected to their very stingy weight limit and I was forced to check it.
Meals and drinks are extra on Norwegian and, while the food is nothing great in any economy cabin, they’re free on the older airlines, plus you get free booze on an airline like BA.
The older airlines have carefully priced their airfares to reflect what they offer for free and Norwegian charges extra for. So what I often see is fares about $100 higher than Norwegian, as this random Denver-to-London example shows: $461 round-trip on Norwegian, $562 round-trip on BA.
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The "legacy carriers" are banking on the fact that sooner or later consumers will get hit with a checked bag fee, even a bag they've been allowed to carry onboard many times previously, and think, “Gee, I could have flown on American or BA for the same price or even less, and had a meal and a free glass or two of wine as well.”
Also of note: When comparing flights to London, Norwegian flies into Gatwick which requires a $46 round-trip train ticket to the city, whereas BA flies into Heathrow and you can take the Tube from there to Central London for far less. And if you’re an AARP member (really, anyone can join, they don’t ask for your birth certificate) you’ll save $65 off your BA fare, so you actually end up paying even less.
There are scenarios where you can ignore all this: If you’re traveling with a small enough cabin bag that adheres to weight and size limits; if the operating airports work for you; if you can abstain from in-flight purchases. Then by all means take advantage of the bargain-basement fares. But if you end up checking a bag on Norwegian, WOW Air, and their ilk, calculate the final cost before you book.
More:Eight tips to make the most of your next flight
George Hobica is the founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. Airfarewatchdog features the best airfares on thousands of routes verified by a team of expert fare analysts.
