Why Budget Airlines Are Basically Flying Escape Rooms

Tight spaces, hidden fees, and confusing rules—getting through a budget airline flight is a challenge worthy of an escape room.

Flying with a budget airline sounds great in theory—cheap tickets, quick flights, and just the basics. But in reality? It’s an endurance test. From navigating baggage fees to surviving the cramped seating, a budget airline flight is basically a high-stakes escape room. The goal? Make it to your destination without losing your sanity (or getting charged for something ridiculous). Here’s why budget airlines feel more like a challenge than a form of transportation.

The First Puzzle: Actually Booking a Cheap Ticket

You see a flight for $30. Amazing, right? Wrong. By the time you check out, you’ve added seat selection, baggage fees, a “convenience” charge, and a fee for breathing. The final price? Not so budget-friendly anymore. The trick is figuring out how to buy just what you need without falling for the airline’s endless upsells.

The Carry-On Luggage Game

The rules are never clear. What counts as a personal item? Will your bag fit in the sizer, or will they make you pay an outrageous fee at the gate? Trying to pack everything into one tiny backpack feels like a test of strategy and physics. If you get it wrong, you either repack your bag in front of a long line of impatient travelers—or accept defeat and pay the $60 bag fee.

The Seat Lottery

You didn’t pay extra for a seat assignment? Congratulations—you’re now in the random seat selection gamble. Will you get stuck in the middle seat between two strangers who don’t believe in personal space? Will your travel buddy be seated five rows away? Who knows! It’s all part of the game.

The Survival Challenge: No Frills, No Comfort

No reclining seats, no free snacks, and a tray table so small it can barely hold a drink—budget airlines make you earn your cheap ticket. Legroom? You better hope you’re under 5’5”. Temperature control? Either freezing cold or boiling hot, with no in-between. You just have to tough it out for the duration of the flight.

The Grand Finale: The Landing Frenzy

The moment the plane touches down, the real madness begins. People jump out of their seats the second the wheels hit the ground, racing to grab their bags—even though the doors aren’t open yet. The final challenge? Navigating the rush to the exit and making it to your destination in one piece.

The Verdict: You Get What You Pay For—And a Great Story

Budget airlines may be stressful, uncomfortable, and full of hidden fees, but they get you where you need to go (eventually). If you pack smart, accept the chaos, and embrace the ridiculousness, you might just survive. And at the very least, you’ll have a great travel story to tell.