Booking a flight to your vacation destination can be stressful, especially if you've never heard of some of the carriers you're seeing. (Is "Wow" really the name of an airline? It is.) And most of the new carriers are advertising low fares, but you have some reservations.
Are they trustworthy? Are they safe? And most of all, will they really save you money?
To find out, I sampled five low-cost carriers this summer that fly to places that are reader favorites _ or maybe on their bucket lists: Allegiant, which serves a host of smaller markets; Norwegian, which has become something of a low-cost darling; Spirit, consistently voted the most hated airline in America; Thomas Cook, around for a dozen years but relatively new to Los Angeles International Airport; and Wow, an Icelandic airline.
You can thank me later.
Among the lessons learned? Low expectations are key, and a ticket on a budget airline may not be a bargain when all is packed, checked and paid for.
Here's a look at what it was like to fly each one, and I've given each a letter grade.
