Your Guide to Budget Airlines Around the World

A Huge List of Every Budget Airline in the World

By Lauren Juliff

Updated 09/24/17

Sunset in Saigon © Lauren Juliff
••• Sunset in Saigon. © Lauren Juliff

If you're a student, you'll no doubt end up taking your fair share of budget airlines as you travel around the world. In the wis years I've been traveling, I have made it my mission to find the cheapest possible flights to my destination, whether it takes me hours or days.

One of the best ways to find cheap flights is via your country's low cost airlines. Usually a simple search on Skyscanner or Adioso will browse will bring up the cheapest flights to your destination, and these sites are especially helpful because you can browse by country instead of city, and spread your proposed travel dates over a month to see when the cheapest days to fly are.

 

Another site I love for finding affordable airfare is Secret Flying. This website shares the cheapest deals from your region of the world, and updates multiple times a day. From the United States, you'll be able to get to Europe for $300 return, Southeast Asia for $500 return, and the Caribbean for $200 return. All you need to do is keep your eye on Secret Flying and keep your travel dates open.

Are There Any Alternatives?

Sometimes, no matter where you look on the internet, you just can't find the flight you want for the price you need. In this situation, the best thing to do is to start looking at budget airlines that may not be included in airfare aggregators like Skyscanner.

Refer to the following list if you're looking to find cheap flights and want to see the low cost airline options for either your destination or arrival city. 

Africa

Below you can find our top recommendations for budget airlines in Africa -- a place where travel is surprisingly expensive:

Algeria

Angola

Botswana

Egypt

Ghana

Kenya

Libya

Malawi

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

South Africa​

Tanzania

Tunisia

 

Asia

Asia is our favorite continent, so we have lots of experience exploring the area via budget airline.

Here are all of the low cost airlines you can find in the region (Air Asia is our absolute favorite!).

Burma

China

Hong Kong

India

 Indonesia

 Japan

 Republic of Korea

Laos

 Malaysia

 Philippines

 Singapore

 Sri Lanka

 Thailand

 Vietnam

 Pakistan

 

Europe

There are no shortage of budget airlines in Europe, with practically every country having one or more. In most cases, flying in Europe is cheaper than taking the bus or train! Here's a comprehensive list of all the low cost carriers in the region:

 Czech Republic

 France

 Germany

 Hungary

 Iceland

 Ireland

 Italy

 Norway

 Romania

 Spain

 United Kingdom

 

Middle East

Here are all of the top budget airlines in the Middle East:

 Kuwait

 Saudi Arabia

 Turkey

 United Arab Emirates

 

North America

Now, a list of all the budget airlines in North America. There are plenty of ways to find affordable airfare in North America, but it's rarely as inexpensive as you'll find in Europe. 

Canada

 Mexico

 United States

 

Oceania

Oceania has a few budget airlines located in Australia and New Zealand, but if you're looking to travel in the South Pacific, you can expect to spend an awful lot on airfare.

 Australia

New Zealand

 

Central America & The Caribbean

Here are the budget airlines in Central America and The Caribbean.

Antigua & Barbuda

 

South America

South America can be tough to get around, so if you're planning on a big trip through the continent, you'll probably find yourself flying between destinations a few times. Here are all the low-cost carriers operating in South America.

Bolivia

 Brazil

 Chile

 Colombia

Ecuador

Paraguay

 Peru