Best “LOW COST” Airlines in the USA (Ultimate 2024 Ranking)

Introduction bre Jet Blue Southwest they're consistently ranked as some of the best Airlines in America and we're about to fly all three back to back to find out which is best hello jet Setters I'm Jeb Brooks from Greener grass.com are these America's best Airlines well we're about to find out and you're coming along here's the plan we'll leave Raleigh North Carolina and fly with Breeze to Providence Rhode Island then we'll fly from Boston Massachusetts to Atlantic Georgia with Jet Blue our final leg will take us from Atlanta down to Fort Meers Florida with Southwest then we'll compare all three including what you can expect to pay but first it's time for Breeze Airways Breeze Airways Breeze Airways is a lowcost airline founded by David neilan The Man Behind Jet Blue its lowcost nature is reflected in things like not having kiosks to check in so we opted for the App instead of waiting in this line the first Airline we're going to check out is breeze it's one of the newest in the US and it's really got a lot of Buzz around it yeah this is our first time flying with Breeze and they say they're seriously nice and have been winning awards for how great they are but I'm curious to know in the comments below let us know what you think is the best airline here in the United States one of the things that's really cool about Breeze is they have a relatively new Fleet our a220 is only 6 months old this is even better news because the a220 is one of my favorite airplanes and um it's just a spectacular experience from from a passenger standpoint one thing that's kind of a negative though today is that our airplane doesn't have Wi-Fi we've got a notification last night that it's not working on this plane so I guess it's a good thing they gave us notification ahead of time so we can download some content but it's too bad that it's not working Breeze is a bit unique amongst these three Airlines in that it offers a kind of first class like product they call a scent or just we just chose a standard economy seat for all three of these Airlines will be sitting in kind of a standard economy seat so we can get a fair comparison and there it is the 6-month-old a220 that's going to carry us up to Providence today the plane parked the inbound passengers got off and the ground crew prepared it for us we started boarding right on time next stop Providence the first thing that struck me on board was just how nice as scent looks I hope we'll get to check it out soon but as Suzanne said it's standard economy seating for us today now Bree does also offer so-called extra leg room seats which are designated by this red color they have an additional 3 in of Beyond where we'll be sitting but for now here's our home for this flight seats 20a and 20 C in addition to paying to select these seats we also paid extras we can each bring a carry-on bag everyone on board is allowed to bring one standard personal item that fits under the seat in front of you but this extra cost means fewer bags which really cuts down on boarding time too the seats have a device holder a standard tray table as well as a coat hook but best of all there's power at each seat the seats also recline but at an hour and 20 minutes there's no need for that it's time for the greener grass tape measure let's put this seat to the test terms of practical knee room you're talking about 11 in 11 in of practical knee room now pitch about 30 in of of pitch between the two seats and then uh let's look at the width 20 in of width that's much wider than most economy seats you'll find in the US and that extra space is down to the size of the a220s fuselage I'll take it now it turns out boarding so quickly also means sitting around Raleigh a little longer we should be pushing back here in about the next 20 minutes in the back we got three wonderful places that here primarily for your safety so please pay attention their safety briefing and any all instructions they have for you thank you for chuning Breeze this morning those 20 minutes passed uneventfully and we pushed back and got on our way up to Rhode Island we settled in now suzan's iPad was a little too small for the device holder but it was steady enough for the whole flight while some other airlines might offer free snacks here on Breeze have to pay for them but in order to make this as complete comparison as possible we're going to do it we're going to get a snack and a drink we also decided to check out the Wi-Fi just in case maybe it was working it was not I think the yellow is an interesting choice I I I I'm feeling somehow like I'm on Spirit um this yellow color Choice kind of a kind of an odd decision on their part seems like they would have gone with blue I don't know anyway the colors in the backs of the seats indicate which class of service you're in how much pitch uh is in each seat this is obviously a much better standard economy seat than you'd find over on Spirit another highlight of the a220 though has to be these windows they're absolutely massive so much bigger than other airplanes well unfortunately we just got an announcement that due to the flight time and turbulence there'll be no service uh on this flight now the seat Bel sign has been off the entire time it really hasn't been very turbulent at all and the flight is an hour and 19 minutes so unfortunately we can't show you anything beyond the menu the seat is comfortable and the flight attendants have been friendly in the aisles when they when they've been there just U no service on this flight unfortunately the TF Green Airport came into view and we were wheels down welcome to Providence the local time is approximately 11:00 a.m. all right so what did you think of your first time on board Breeze I would say it was perfectly Pleasant there's not too much to comment on on a such a quick flight it is kind of an interesting business model that sort of ultra lowcost carrier thing with some kind of elevated upgrades you can get that would be cool to check out next time try to fly those Ascent seats those look really nice yeah that was a great I'll call it a first class looking cabin so we'll definitely check that out but for now it's time to head out of Providence we've got to make our way over to Boston Logan to catch a Jet Blue flight what are you doing aggressively refreshing till it's 24 hours before our Southwest check-in time I need this part 30 bucks per person to upgrade to a better boarding position what's the boarding position A1 to a15 I think it's worth it she controls the person strings though so are we doing it we decided we decided to do it gives us more time in the seat to get more footage for you the Southwest boarding process make you anxious makes me anxious but we'll think about that tomorrow because right now a jet Mo flight down to uh down to JetBlue Airways Atlanta we booked one of JetBlue's blue fairs which include a carry-on bag and standard seat selection this flight is also on an a220 so we picked seats on the left side again it wasn't too long ago that we were flying with Jet Blue into Boston that was of course mint which is their Long Haul premium live flat business class experience pretty amazing really if you haven't seen that video check it out but today we're flying the more typical sort of regular domestic economy class to really get a sense of what that's like we included Breeze in this competition because it's such a new Airline and it seems like new often means great and it was an impressive service Jet Blue is competing though because there's just an undeniable cool Factor associated with that Airline but there's also lot of extras uh there's more leg room there TVs snacks all kinds of reasons uh it's just such a nice experience and that's it the 3-year-old Airbus a220 or C Series it'll take us down to Atlanta it name is blue plane special a key component of this competition if you can call it that is ground game how are these Airlines handling their their their operation here on the ground and the answer for Jet Blue so so far is not great we are past boarding time and we still still haven't begun hopefully we'll get on board soon just got an update uh turns out the reason we haven't boarded yet is the crew is not yet here they're stuck in traffic Boston what you're looking for in situations like this is just is a is some crew members kind of with a hustle like a little bit of a hustle within view of the passengers we haven't seen those that yet so I'm sure they're on their way flight attempts have just arrived and they did look like they were walking in briskly that's what you want to see from a late arriving crew not the first time it's happened probably not the last but they're here we should be getting on board and I don't know 10 minutes or so just about 30 minutes late next stop Atlanta despite the delay everyone worked hard to board this flight quickly the gate agent even helped push wheelchair bound passengers on board we'll call seats 26a and C home for this flight down to Atlanta unlike our last flight there's a seat back screen here in addition to movies and shows and a moving Map There's also live TV there's a USB socket here and an international plug down here and while there's food for sale there's also free drinks and snacks available [Music] too the tray table is sturdy the seat reclines and overall just feels a lot bigger than the seat on Breeze but let's take a look 12 in 32 in 20 in that's a full two more Ines of pitch than we had on Breeze bu your board to our FL down to Atlanta this afternoon be underway here in just a few minutes after take off 2 hours 13 minutes and anybody to sit back relax and enjoy the flight all in that delay plus congestion on the ramp cost us about an hour well it could have been worse we pushed back and made our way out to the runway enjoying all there is to see in Boston until it was our turn to head into the sky [Music] we settled in Seinfeld on the TV and New York out the window by simply watching an ad we were able to access fast free Wi-Fi despite a far bumpier flight than we had with Breeze our cabin crew were in the Isles serving they first passed through with items for sale then they came through with drinks and that was followed by a choice of snacks I had ginger ale and sparkling water for Suzanne in here on Jet Blue you get the whole can the whole can for free later our flight attendant returned with a selection of snacks I went with pop chips and Suzanne opted for pretzels [Music] before long we traded our views of the tops of the clouds for below [Music] them what did you think of Jet Blue it's pretty awesome snacks Wi-Fi TV can't get better than that right I think you're right I think my favorite part of it though was the seat it was just so roomy I think uh that extra pitch and width make makes a big difference it's got to be one of the best but for now it's time to try Southwest Airlines Southwest one of the really great things about Southwest Airlines is you can check two bags for free we are just carrying on today so we won't need any bags but we're going to grab some boarding passes and then get this trip started unlike other airlines here at Southwest you won't be fighting mobs of people to get get on board instead you're given an assignment in line rather than a seat assignment so you know exactly when you're getting on the plane For Better or For Worse in our case we're A3 and four today which means we'll be getting on pretty early and that I think is a good thing this boarding policy is going away Southwest is announced and we're going to be going to the regular seat assign process like the other airlines that's too bad they're going to lose a little J sequa as a result but for today this is how we're doing it as we just saw bags Fly for Free here on Southwest Airlines but there's so many reasons people love this airline in general there seem to be less fees and less getting nickel and DIY feeling like you're paying extra for everything there's the open seating policy which you know some people find controversial but some people find really helpful but I think the overriding thing that I usually hear about Southwest it's just that helpful and friendly culture of their employees well we're about to find out for ourselves for sure so it's time to get boarded up for this flight to Fort Meers let's get it checked out and there it is the 18-year-old 737-700 that'll take us down there to Florida today had we not paid to upgrade our boarding position we would have been B22 and 23 not too bad but I was glad to be boarding earlier next stop Fort Meers unlike the other two Airlines there's no first class or premium sections here at least not for the moment also the cabin is arranged in a 33 configuration and most of the rows are identical for extra room you'll want to snag Row one or one of the exit row seats and with boarding positions like A3 and A4 we easily could have done that but we want to make this an Apples to Apples comparison so instead we went back to seats 21A and B how much space can you expect in a Southwest airline seat if only I had some tool to use to figure that out here we go 12 in of usable knee room 32 in of pitch and 17 1/2 in of width all that Stacks up to a pretty comfortable seat there's a tray table here and the seat reclines the menu highlights the free options on board along with alcohol which is available for purchase now today's flight to Fort Meers is fairly empty which looked to be a good thing in terms of a seatmate but not everything was great with the seat no power though we pushed back early with 21c still empty and started our short taxi out to the runway here in Atlanta and this is why you always pick the window back in 2019 I flew this beautiful 747-8 from Soul here to Atlanta soon we were back in the sky I settled in with my iPad and some content I downloaded in advance of this trip but I didn't have to you see streaming options are available at no additional cost there's also a magazine if you're into reading and of course the map which is the best way to track your flight's progress the seat belt sign's on but the flight attendants are already up in the aisle taking drink orders uh really impressive but start to the service here in Southwest already regular water for me and sparkling for Suzanne unlike JetBlue Southwest does not offer a choice of snacks instead everyone got pretzels snacks and drinks have arrived unfortunately the internet is not working on today's flight streaming is so people watch m and that kind of thing send messages but for can't serve the web so I don't know how fast it is but regardless there's plenty to do up here on this relatively Short play if it had been working Wi-Fi would have cost $8 but again streaming entertainment live TV and even messaging are available for free but no sooner had I finished my pretzels than we were on the ground welcome to Fort Meers what do you think of Southwest that was a really great flight I was kind of pleasantly surprised with the amount of leg room for sure yeah that was a great crew too you can tell they were having a lot of fun with each other and with the passengers which is always a plus but now let's find out which one of these really is the best let's compare them all as always whenever we provide Ranking & Pricing ratings or comparisons on this channel it's unscientific and based on our own experiences that said we'll take a look at the ground game the seats the food the inflight entertainment and onboard service from today's flights then we'll explain pricing and exactly what we paid on each of these Airlines first in terms of ground game JetBlue was at a real disadvantage but getting your crew to the plane in time for departure is a necessary component to Flying further the gate agent didn't even communicate about the delay until after boarding time had passed so they lose here Southwest was the winner though we pushed back early next the seats Breeze is in the clear bottom position since their seat was the smallest we try today that leaves Jet Blue On Top since they had the biggest the award for best food goes to Jet Blue since they offer a choice of free snacks because Breeze did not offer any service they come in last place and that wasn't even our shortest flight that was our flight on Southwest in terms of inflight entertainment Breeze is at the bottom since the internet was not working JetBlue comes out on top because of their impressive seatback screens and fast free Wi-Fi finally the award for onboard service goes to Southwest thanks to their fun and engaging crew and before we give you the overall winner let's talk price we booked three one-way tickets we paid $152 each for Breeze including fees for a carry-on bag and seat selection $28 each for Jet Blue and $159 each for Southwest but since that compares different routes let's find one that all three airlines fly turns out they all operate Providence to Orlando now let's assume we travel with one carry-on bag now obviously fairs are going to vary depending on the time of day or the time of week or how full a flight is but we found a date in October with each airline's lowest Fair Breeze starts at just $49 but if you want to bring a carry-on bag you'll be paying an extra 30 bucks bringing the total to $79 Jet Blue will cost you $74 in their lowest blue basic ticket option which includes a carry-on but puts you in the final group to board southwest's lowest fair is also $74 and that includes a carry-on bag plus two checked bags if you have them now these three Airlines can be comparable when it comes to price but it's all about the add-ons if you have checked bags Southwest could make a lot of sense but if you only travel with a backpack that goes under the seat Bree's Bare Bones fairs could work for you and who's the overall winner well it's a tie between Southwest and Jet Blue between now and the next time see in the sky okay just this okay got to get my good side you might wonder how we do this early mornings flying back and forth coffee it's the only answer hopefully that gets uh more uh hopefully that's all I can have to say about that snacks and drinks may be free on some snacks and drinks may be free on some Airlines but means is now safe to use your approved El let's get going this again cuz my hair is like look at this it looks okay that's kind of weird a little shiny too you look great okay and here on Jet Blue you get the whole can the whole can