Best budget airlines for Australians ✈️

Saving money is just the beginning.

Some people get scared off by the ideal of a budget airline. Squishy seats, over-stuffed carry-on bags, pay-per-kilo checked luggage and zero entertainment options are a few things that may spring to mind.

We’re certainly partial to a practically priced flight and seek out a bargain wherever possible, so we’re pretty well versed in budget airlines.

And, really, they aren’t all that bad! Or, rather, they aren’t all created equally.

What's on this page?

Before we get started, here’s how we rated these airlines

1) We looked at the Skytrax rating. It’s an independent review site measuring the quality of airlines, with both customer reviews and an official annual rating out of five stars based on a set evaluation.
2) We looked at Airlineratings.com. It’s another airline review site with editor reviews, customer reviews and an annual awards cycle.
3) We considered our own experiences, where possible.

Note: All the customer reviews were correct at the time of writing, which can very quickly change. We’ll do our very best to stay on top of the ratings though and make updates as often as possible.

Skip to airlines flying to… Australia | Asia | Europe

Best budget airlines in Australia

Alright, we admit there aren’t many options here when it comes to domestic flights, so we’ll just cover the two that are currently operating.

Jetstar

Have we flown with Jetstar? Yes. ✅

Skytrax rating: 3-stars, with a 4/10 customer rating
Airlineratings.com rating: 3.9/10 customer rating

Our experience: We’ve lost count of the number of Jetstar flights we’ve been on and while we’d certainly opt for Qantas if the prices were equal, time and time again we’ve found ourselves as suckers for a good sale. And this airline is GOOD at them.

We’ve scored deals like $18 flights between Sydney and Darwin and free return tickets between the east and west coasts of Australia.

Compared to Asian and European budget airlines, the seat space isn’t too bad on Jetstar’s planes. In fact, Jetstar’s average seat width is 17.88 inches on the A320 planes (which make up post of the fleet). Europe’s Ryanair has just 17 inches, while AirAsia’s chairs are between 16-17.

Would we choose to fly with Jetstar? If the price is right, for sure.

See the latest Jetstar deals

Bonza

Have we flown with Bonza? Not yet. This response is based solely on reviews and research. 🔬

Skytrax rating: Not yet rated.
Airlineratings.com rating: No passenger reviews yet.

Our thoughts: One of the newest airlines in the sky, Bonza is certainly one to keep an eye on. Having only taken off for the first time at the end of January 2023, it’s yet to be rated on the major review sites.

But, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been reviewed at all. Some respectable names in the Australian travel biz, including Australian Traveller and Escape have all given it favourable reviews after being invited onto its inaugural flight.

What we like is that, unlike Jetstar, Bonza does offer an in-flight entertainment system. Plus, all of its menu items are from local Australian producers.

Would we choose to fly with Yes, as the reviews were good and we’re keen to give this new Aussie carrier a fair go. Unfortunately, it’s not yet flying to Sydney (where we’re based), so we’ll need to twiddle our thumbs a little bit longer.

See the latest Bonza deals

Best budget airlines for flights to Asia from Australia

AirAsia

Have we flown with AirAsia? Yes. ✅

Skytrax rating: 3-stars, with a 5/10 customer rating
Airlineratings.com rating: 3.2/10 customer rating (We used AirAsia X here as that’s what flies to Australia, but there are local AirAsia fleets in Thailand, the Philippines and more.

Our thoughts: Having flown with AirAsia on both longer-haul journeys from Australia to Asia and on shorter jaunts between cities within Asia, we’ve gotten a pretty good idea of what the airline is like.

Now, we will admit that, similar to what we said about Jetstar above, the biggest appeal to AirAsia really is the price. Of course, that’s very much the case with most budget airlines. But, even compared to other carriers on its routes within Asia, it almost always comes out as the cheapest.

If you’re flying from Australia to Asia, you’re certainly better off on AirAsia than both Cebu and Scoot, which offer a similar service. Seat widths are about the same, but you’re certainly winning when it comes to seat pitch, or the amount of room from the seat in front of you to yours.

In economy:

AirAsia offers 32 inches of pitch
Scoot offers 31 inches of pitch
Cebu offers 30 of pitch

Overall, AirAsia would make a much more comfortable flight between the two continents. And having flown with all three from Sydney to southeast Asia, it’s certainly true.

Would we choose to fly with AirAsia? When flying within Asia, as long as it’s the cheapest option, sure. For flights from Australia to Asia, we’ll only choose AirAsia when it’s the cheapest option by more than $200. Once you start adding the price of checked bags and the convenience of in-flight meals, drinks and entertainment, it generally needs to be a big enough price difference to be worth it.

See the latest AirAsia sales

Cebu Pacific

Have we flown with Cebu Pacific? Yes. ✅

Skytrax rating: 3-stars, with a 4/10 customer rating
Airlineratings.com rating: 2.6/10 customer rating

Our thoughts: This one’s making the list out of pure convenience. With the some of the worst customer ratings on this list of budget airlines, the sheer affordability of flights is what places it. It’s the only discount carrier flying direct between the Philippines and Australia, and flights are usually half (or less) than the price of a competing Qantas or Philippine Airlines fare.

When it comes to comfort, you’re not in for a ton of it. But, of the two return flights to the Philippines we’ve taken with Cebu Pacific, we’ve always had either an empty seat next to us, or an entire row to ourselves, which certainly made the ride roomier.

The seat pitch is just 30 inches on the Australia-bound planes, but just 28 on domestic flights, and with a seat width of just 17 inches, the Cebu planes are some of the squishiest on this list.

Would we choose to fly with Cebu? Only if it’s less than $500 return for a flight from Australia.

Vietjet

Have we flown with Vietjet? Yes, for a domestic flight within Vietnam. ✅ For Australia-Vietnam flights, his response is based solely on reviews and research. 🔬

Skytrax rating: No start rating given, with a 3/10 customer rating
Airlineratings.com rating: 7/10 customer rating

Our thoughts: After becoming one of the newest airlines to offer super-cheap flights between Australia and Asia, our interest in Vietjet has certainly peaked. We’ve seen return flights going for as cheap as $267 return.

We have travelled with Vietjet on domestic flights within Vietnam, going from Hanoi to Da Nang, and the flights was pretty comparable to an AirAsia flight.

Surprisingly varied customer reviews (especially between customer reviews on Skytrax vs Airlineratings.com)

Would we choose to fly with Vietjet? Yes, as we’re very curious to give it a go on its new, cheap services from Australia. Especially the Skyboss seats, which this favourable review from Escape raves about.

Best budget airlines for flights to Europe from Australia

Scoot

While technically Scoot is an Asia-based carrier, it does offer super-cheap flights between Australia and two European cities — Athens and Berlin.

Have we flown with Scoot? Yes. ✅

Skytrax rating: 3-stars, with a 5/10 customer rating
Airlineratings.com rating: 3.8/10 customer rating

Our thoughts: One of the roomiest budget airlines flying between Asia and Australia, all the Scoot flights we’ve taken between Sydney and Singapore have been comfortable (and there has been a few).

Scoot flies Dreamliners between the two continents, which offers a more comfortable flight with better cabin pressure and larger windows compared to most other planes Seats are up to 19.7 inches wide in economy, which is up to three inches wider than AirAsia’s.

If you’re trying to save on checked baggage fees, Scoot also offers the most generous free carry-on allowance. At 10kg, there’s plenty of room to pack plenty of light clothes that are perfect for a sojourn to Southeast Asia.

Would we choose to fly with Scoot? Yes. Dare we say it’s our favourite of the budget airlines on this list.

Frequently asked questions about budget airlines

What’s included in a budget airline ticket?

Most budget airlines just include the guarantee of a seat on the plane and a carry-on bag. Most of the time, it’s just 7kg, but Scoot lets you bring a 10kg carry-on without paying any extra fees.

What’s the cheapest budget airline in Australia?

There’s little competition, but when it comes to the regular price of flights, Bonza’s are certainly some of the cheapest. Prices average out to about $50 or less per ticket, each way.

However, when Jetstar has a sale, they can get super cheap, too. It also often has deals like return-for-free flights where you’ll only need to pay for an outbound fare.

Can you collect frequent flyer points with budget airlines?

Sometimes… Many budget airlines are actually owned by full-service airlines and some let you collect their frequent flyer points if you book the right fare.

For example, Scoot is owned by Singapore Airlines. You can earn one Krisflyer mile for every SGD$1 spent on a Scoot flight.

Jetstar is owned by Qantas. While you can’t earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points with the cheapest fare, but if you upgrade to a Plus fare (which also includes baggage), you’ll be able to earn points.