Guide
Airline fees compared: bags, seats and changes on the cheapest fare
We read the fee pages of 10 airlines on 14 November 2026, for the cheapest economy fare each one sells. A carry-on bag is included on 6 of them (Southwest, Delta, American, JetBlue, British Airways and Emirates), costs extra on Ryanair and Wizz Air, and is not allowed at all on United's cheapest domestic fare. A first checked bag is included only on Emirates. United and American do not let you change their cheapest ticket. In 9 of the 40 cells below the airline publishes no fixed figure or range, and we say so rather than estimate.
Bags: carry-on and first checked bag
| airline / fare | carry-on bag | first checked bag |
|---|---|---|
| Ryanair All routes, cheapest fare; ranges in euros or pounds | €/£12.49 to €/£36 when booking (sold as Priority & 2 Cabin Bags) source | €/£21.49 to €/£59.99 when booking (20 kg) source |
| Wizz Air All routes, cheapest fare; ranges in euros | €13 to €60 online (sold as WIZZ Priority) source | €10 to €112.50 online in low season (20 kg) source |
| Frontier United States, Basic fare | Priced by route in a bag price checker; no range published source | Priced by route in a bag price checker; no range published source |
| Southwest United States mainland, Basic fare | Included source | $45 source |
| Delta United States domestic, Delta Main Basic | Included source | $45 each way source |
| United United States domestic, Basic Economy | Not allowed (personal item only); $75 if a bag has to be checked at the gate source | From $45 prepaid, $50 at the airport lobby, $75 at the gate source |
| American United States, Basic Economy (tickets issued from 18 May 2026) | Included source | $50 online, $55 at the airport source |
| JetBlue United States, Latin America, Caribbean and Canada, Main Base fare | Included source | $50 off-peak, $55 peak, when added more than 24 hours before departure source |
| British Airways Short-haul, Economy Basic (hand baggage only) | Included source | Priced by route in a calculator; no range published source |
| Emirates Long-haul, Economy Special (United States site) | Included, one piece up to 7 kg source | Included, one piece up to 23 kg on Americas routes source |
Seats and changes
| airline | choosing a standard seat | changing the flight |
|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | €/£3 to €/£27.50 for a standard seat source | €/£45 online, €/£60 at the airport source |
| Wizz Air | €4 to €60 source | €50 to €60 source |
| Frontier | From $15 per flight segment source | $0 at 60 days or more before departure, $149 after that (bookings from 25 Sep 2026) source |
| Southwest | Standard seat assigned free at check-in; paid seat upgrades $4 to $250 source | No change fee, but a Basic fare can only be changed by upgrading it source |
| Delta | Assigned free after check-in; choosing earlier costs a fee that is not published as a fixed figure source | $99 within North and Central America, $199 on long-haul routes source |
| United | United chooses the seat; the price to choose is not published as a fixed figure source | Cannot be changed; cancel and rebook source |
| American | Assigned free at check-in; choosing earlier costs a fee that is not published as a fixed figure source | Cannot be changed (exceptions for trips starting in Europe) source |
| JetBlue | Costs a fee that is not published as a fixed figure source | $150 per person source |
| British Airways | Allocated free when check-in opens; the price to choose is shown only when booking source | Its service-fees page did not load when we read it source |
| Emirates | $7 to $40 for a regular seat; free once online check-in opens source | Not listed on its fee page source |
How to read this
The ticket price is only part of what a cheap flight costs. Add the bag you will actually bring and the seat you want, both ways, before comparing two fares. Ranges are the airline's own published range across its routes and dates; the price for one flight sits somewhere inside it. Fees at the airport are higher than fees paid when booking wherever an airline publishes both.
Each figure is for the cheapest standard economy fare and the routes named under the airline. Fees are in the currency the airline publishes them in and are not converted.
What we could not read
Two airlines we set out to include are missing because their own pages could not be read on 14 November 2026:
- easyJet: its fee pages refused the request (access denied).
- Spirit: its website did not load.
The same check on other prices
An advertised price that leaves out what most people end up paying is not only an airline habit. We keep the same kind of record for web hosting, where the first term is cheap and the renewal is not (Hostinger), for VPNs (NordVPN), and for subscriptions whose price depends on the country (Xbox Game Pass by country).
Questions
Which airlines include a carry-on bag in the cheapest fare?
Of the 10 airlines we read on 14 November 2026: Southwest, Delta, American, JetBlue, British Airways and Emirates. Ryanair and Wizz Air charge for the larger cabin bag, and United does not allow one on its cheapest domestic fare.
Which airlines do not let you change the cheapest ticket?
United and American, on the fares named in the table. Their pages say the ticket cannot be changed; the table links to each page.
Why do some cells say the fee is not published?
Some airlines show a fee only inside a booking or a route calculator, with no fixed figure or range on a public page. We record that as not published. We do not estimate it and we do not copy figures from other websites.