My ultimate budget travel checklist to save hundreds on flights: How to book low fares, skip seat fees & luggage charges

The Irish Sun

22-07-2025

AS a travel writer and mum-of-two, I specialise in affordable travel for families, using the tips I pick up on my 12-plus trips abroad every year.
It pays to be prepared, as a cheap Ryanair flight can easily run into the hundreds, if you don't know what you're doing.
Advertisement
5
Travel writer Helen books trips abroad every month and knows how to get the best flight deals
Credit: Helen Wright
5
Make sure you get the best deals when booking with a low-cost airline like Ryanair
Credit: Getty
I have managed to snap up some amazing deals, including flights to
But budget airlines can sometimes sneak in hidden fees and costs or make check-in confusing, meaning you end up paying more than the advertised fee.
I've picked up several smart
Advertisement
Plus, being clever when you travel can save you a lot of hassle, as well as money.
So here's
my cheap travel checklist to bag the best deals, find hidden budget airline fees, travel easier and not get ripped off on flights:
Be flexible with your dates
For some people, it's not always possible to be flexible with dates, especially if you need to travel around school holidays or over the weekend.
But if you can have little bit of wiggle room on when you can travel, you can save hundreds, sometimes thousands on the same flight for a family of four.
When looking for your flights, always search for the whole month and compare your chosen dates with others available around the same time, as sometimes the difference in price can be hundreds per person.
Advertisement
You can search for flights on a price-comparison website like
Once, I was flying to the
Flights on the days leading up to Thanksgiving, which is like Christmas in the USA, were almost £400 more per person.
We shifted our trip by four days and saved £1,500 on the same trip.
It's the same when there are festivals and big events in smaller cities like Milan and
Advertisement
The Sun's Travel Editor Lisa Minot's top picks for cheapest holiday destinations
DON'T add a bag when you book a cheap flight
This might be my favourite tip for anyone booking cheap flights with a budget airline.
NEVER add a bag when you make your booking.
When you book a flight with airlines like
This is usually the size of a
Before you complete the purchase, you'll be given the option to add bags.
Advertisement
On recent flights I booked to
Made to look like the next cheapest option, it's advertised at £27.57, with the small print revealing this to be per person, each way.
For a two day trip to
By adding this option to add a bag, my 'cheap' flight to Italy would have gone from £170 for a family of four, to £390.56 - more than double the price!
However, once the flights have been booked, you can go into your booking on the
Advertisement
One suitcase for a two night trip was more than enough for all of us and it cost me just £25.50 each way.
We could still pack extra clothes and toiletries, but our family trip was only £221, saving almost £200.
Bring the right bag
5
Make sure your bag is the correct size for your booking
Credit: GETTY
If you don't think you'll need a suitcase for your trip, booking the cheapest fare with an
Just make sure you don't bring a bag that is bigger than the maximum size allowed, which on Ryanair is 40 x 20 x 25cm and on
Advertisement
Usually this is the size of an everyday backpack but get the tape out and make sure to include all wheels, handles or straps when you measure your bag.
Every time I fly on a
If your bag is too big when you get to the airport, you could be charged £48 each way on EasyJet and £70 each way on Ryanair - suddenly not such a cheap flight anymore.
Be ready to book when flights go on sale
If you can't be flexible with your flights or you want to travel at peak times, the cheapest way to book a flight on a budget airline is to be ready to book as soon as
EasyJet
Advertisement
New flights are revealed between three and four times a year.
Ryanair doesn't notify customers beforehand, but the airline does release seats around nine months in advance.
So now is a great time to book February half term flights!
If you are one of the first online to book seats when they are released, you can snap up the cheapest seats on the plane.
But you need to be quick.
Advertisement
These seats can go up in price within two hours of being made available, so being online first thing in the morning is the best way to nab a deal.
To be in the know, download the Ryanair app, join
Print your boarding pass or use the airline app
Always check-in before you arrive at the airport. On airlines like Ryanair and
Always print out your boarding pass, download it to your phone or have it available on the app or you'll be slapped with a fine of £20 per person for them to be reissued when you get to the airport.
5
CHEAP airline tips
Credit: Helen Wright
Advertisement
I don't pay extra for seats but I've never been sat separately from my kids on the plane.
When you are travelling with young children, it's rare for them to be given seats that are not with at least one parent.
Most airlines have a policy that states that children will be sat 'close' to their parents or carers, but be aware that this could be in front or behind you, or across the aisle.
Ryanair has a family seating policy, which means that you are forced to pay a compulsory fee of between £4 and £6 to reserve seats with your children, which saves a lot of stress and anxiety at the airport.
I always try to keep costs down, so I rarely pay extra to reserve seats.
In all the times I have travelled with my children, which is three or four flights a year, I have never been separated from them on any airline, low-cost or otherwise.
Advertisement
U
pgrading long-haul flights at the last minute
When flying long-haul, like recently when I flew Virgin Atlantic to
No matter what the 'experts' tell you, being upgraded because you dressed smart for the airport or gave staff a gift is highly unlikely.
However, you can sometimes get a brilliant deal on upgrades by checking if any are available as your flight approaches.
5
Helen and her friend Carly got a bargain upgrade on Virgin Atlantic
Credit: Helen Wright
Everything you need to know before boarding a plane
Is it
Top trick to help you
How do I
How to know if you
How
I was flying in Economy on
Advertisement
However, with only a day or two before the flight, I was able to upgrade for £400, a fraction of the cost.
If you have a bit extra cash and want a bit more space or a fancier experience, it's worth asking.
On their website, Virgin Atlantic also offers you the chance to
This means you can decide how much you want to pay - it can be as low or as high as you want - and if your deal is best, you'll get the upgrade for that price.
It's quite a fun way to be in with a chance to move up a cabin though!
Advertisement