Are budget airline tickets really cheap? Real-world test: EVA Air is actually cheaper than Tigerair

Under the same conditions (departing from Taoyuan on February 1 and returning from Tokyo on February 5, both including in-flight meals and checked baggage), it was found that Taiwan Tigerair (above) is actually 200 TWD more expensive than EVA Air (below). (Photo / Lin Cheng-yen, edited)

People who have previously enjoyed the benefits of low-cost tickets may have recently noticed that it’s getting harder and harder to snag those “cheap fares” offered by budget airlines. Many travelers have voiced their frustration, saying: “It’s basically impossible to find cheap tickets now, and budget airlines charge so many extra fees that, when you add them all up, there’s really not much savings at all.”

There are actually quite a few reasons why budget airlines have become more expensive. Take Taiwan Tigerair as an example—the number of system-available seats, special offer tickets, and available travel dates has decreased compared to the past. This is because airlines are increasingly collaborating with travel agencies and prioritizing ticket sales through these agencies, which naturally reduces the quota of tickets available for general passengers to snap up.

Also, don’t get too excited just because you see a promotional offer. The low fares advertised by budget airlines often only include the base ticket price—things like taxes, baggage fees, in-flight meals, and seat selection all come at an extra cost. On top of that, budget airlines are particularly strict when it comes to changing your itinerary or name, often charging high handling fees. When you add up all these hidden costs, they can sometimes even end up being more expensive than those of regular airlines.

The trend of Taiwanese people traveling abroad is still going strong, and many airlines have made substantial profits as a result. Taiwan Tigerair made a profit of around 500 million TWD last year, bringing its accumulated losses down to about 1 billion TWD. But does this mean they’ll pass the savings on to passengers? The answer might be disappointing. Zhang Hongzhong, chairman of Taiwan Tigerair, pointed out that fuel prices are a major issue for the airline. As a low-cost carrier, they do not charge a fuel surcharge. If oil prices remain high, they will have to work on raising the actual ticket prices. Moreover, Tigerair also significantly increased baggage fees last year. All these factors have made Taiwan’s only budget airline less and less budget-friendly.

Looking at the current market dynamics, it seems that the era of super-cheap budget airline tickets isn’t coming back anytime soon. Most people online are also pessimistic, believing that as long as a ticket is around 2000 TWD cheaper than those of “EVA Air” or “China Airlines,” it’s worth grabbing. It’s indeed much harder nowadays to score those ultra-cheap round-trip Taiwan-Japan tickets for 4000 TWD like in the past. However, according to experienced ticket-snatching players, the chances of getting low-priced tickets from budget airlines like Scoot and Jetstar are still relatively high, whereas Peach Aviation and Tigerair are comparatively more difficult.