European Budget Airlines

We have flown a number of European budget airlines and I am here to provide you with our very candid feedback!

1st you pay for what you get... however I will say that compared to airlines in the United States even the budget airlines do a great job at catering to families!

You do have to be careful of hidden costs... but they typically send you lots of reminders. Pro tip: Make sure you carefully follow the check-in instructions which may included adding in ALL passport information.

Here's my candid feedback. Traveling with kids... For reference I have been traveling since my oldest (born in 2016) was 2 months old. Our kids were born 2016, 2018, 2021 for reference as depending on when you read this their ages might change :)

Iceland Air: Fantastic! Extremely family friends AND they offer a discount for kids!

• Children aged 2-11 get up to 20% off available adult fares. 

• Lap children and <2 have different discounts as well

RyanAir:

• Overall Fine

• Pros:

  • Family seating offer (families don't pay to sit together). Some extra baggage perks with diaper bags etc. Look specific for your flight as sometimes it's different

• Cons:

  • Fees: This is why I give the warning of pay attention to what "checking in" is. I checked us in 24 hours in advance as prompted however I did not enter the passport information. This led to "incomplete" check-in forcing us to check in at the airport which was a lot! Around 55 Euros/person (5 people traveling)... this mistake was more expensive than the flights!

  • Boarding process is a little overwhelming and like herding cattle. Makes southwest seem civilized!

Iberia:

• Overall fine however I will say they went above and beyond from a customer service perspective. We had an issue with one of the tickets for one of our kids and they fixed everything for us at the airport for free and without hassle! Definitely appreciated the friendly service!

• Pro: Customer service!

Transavia

• Overall fine experience

• Pro

  • Family check-in at the airport (may not always happen but this was a nice perk)

  • Proactive with credits because of a delayed flight. Our flight (as well as EVERY other flight that day) was delayed due to weather. This airline immediately sent me food vouchers when they knew our departure would meet the criteria to provide a meal.

  • Easy booking/check-in

• Con

  • Seats were uncomfortable. This was a short flight and I still remember them being uncomfortable.

Another PRO tip: Airlines will occasionally offer discounts OR even FREE flights for children traveling with adults.

I'll add to this list if we travel on any other European budget airlines.