The 10 best low-cost long-haul airlines in 2026: Scoot, Zipair, Norse Atlantic, French Bee, LEVEL, and more — with the trade-offs each one asks you to make.
Long-haul flying no longer requires a legacy-airline fare. A generation of budget long-haul carriers — Scoot, Zipair, Norse Atlantic, French Bee, and others — now crosses oceans for a fraction of traditional pricing. The catch: base fares include almost nothing, so knowing what each airline charges for is as important as the ticket price itself. Here are the ten best, ranked.
These are carriers applying the low-cost model — unbundled fares, dense cabins, add-on pricing — to flights of roughly six hours or more. Most fly modern widebodies (Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s dominate the segment) and most are subsidiaries of full-service groups: Scoot belongs to Singapore Airlines, Zipair to Japan Airlines, LEVEL to IAG, Jetstar to Qantas. That parentage matters — it brings maintenance standards, operational backup, and rebooking options that independent startups can't always match.
Singapore Airlines' long-haul budget arm, and the Skytrax winner among long-haul low-cost carriers. Boeing 787 Dreamliners connect Singapore with Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Japan, and Korea. ScootPlus adds a wider seat and baggage for a modest premium, and the SIA group backing means reliable operations.
Japan Airlines' low-cost subsidiary flying 787s from Tokyo Narita to the US West Coast, Honolulu, and across Asia. Its standout trick: ZIP Full-Flat, a genuine lie-flat seat at a fraction of legacy business-class fares. Cashless onboard, no seat-back screens, pay only for what you use.
The transatlantic specialist. Boeing 787s link London, Paris, Berlin, Oslo, and Rome with New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Orlando. Base fares are stripped bare — meals, bags, and seat selection all cost extra — but the Premium cabin is one of the best-value ways to cross the Atlantic with real legroom.
Paris Orly-based carrier flying new Airbus A350s to San Francisco, Réunion, and Tahiti. Dense seating keeps fares low, but the modern fleet means quieter cabins and better air. Wi-Fi is available onboard, and bundled fare tiers make pricing easy to understand.
IAG's low-cost long-haul brand flying from Barcelona to North and South America. Backed by the same group as British Airways and Iberia, it offers solid operational reliability with fares well under legacy pricing. Meals and bags are add-ons; premium economy is available on most routes.
The Philippines' largest airline extends its low-fare model to long-haul with Airbus A330s serving the Middle East and Australia. Seat pitch is tight, but for price-sensitive travelers on Manila–Dubai or Manila–Sydney, the savings versus full-service carriers are substantial.
The long-haul sister of AirAsia flies from Kuala Lumpur to Australia, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East. Rows are packed an extra seat wide, so it's a true no-frills experience — but Premium Flatbed offers a budget lie-flat option, and sale fares can be remarkably cheap.
A hybrid carrier from Seoul with above-average legroom in economy — rare in this segment — and a well-priced premium cabin on routes to the US. If you want long-haul savings without the tightest seating, Air Premia is the comfort pick of the budget field.
Qantas's budget subsidiary flies 787s from Australia to Bali, Japan, Thailand, and Honolulu. Frequent sales push fares far below Qantas mainline, and the option to earn Qantas points on bundled fares adds value for regional travelers.
Air Canada's leisure arm covers sun destinations and select European routes at lower fares than mainline. Cabins are denser, but integration with Aeroplan and Air Canada's network makes it the least risky way to fly budget long-haul from Canada.
Scoot, Zipair, and Norse Atlantic lead the pack for reliability and value, and each dominates a different region: Scoot for Asia-Pacific, Zipair for transpacific, Norse for transatlantic. Before booking any of them, price the total — fare plus bag plus meal plus seat — against a legacy carrier's economy fare. Budget long-haul wins most of the time, but not always.
Every airline on this list charges separately for checked baggage, and most charge for meals, seat selection, and sometimes even water or power outlets. On a 10-plus-hour flight those add-ons are not optional luxuries. As a rule of thumb, add $80–150 round trip to the headline fare for a realistic comparison against a full-service carrier that bundles everything in. If the gap is still $200 or more, the budget carrier wins.
Search fares across budget and full-service carriers on your route side by side:
Yes. Carriers like Scoot, Zipair, LEVEL, and Jetstar are subsidiaries of major airline groups and operate under the same safety regulations as their parents. Low-cost economics affect what's included in your fare, not how the aircraft is maintained or flown.
Usually, but not always. Once you add checked baggage, meals, and seat selection, the gap narrows. Compare the all-in total for both options on your dates — budget carriers typically win by $150–400 on popular routes, but legacy sales can occasionally undercut them.
Zipair's ZIP Full-Flat and AirAsia X's Premium Flatbed are the two genuine budget lie-flat products. Norse Atlantic's Premium cabin is a large recliner rather than a flat bed, but offers exceptional legroom for the price.
We review the ranking regularly as carriers add routes, retire aircraft, or change fare structures. This page was last reviewed in July 2026.
This ranking weighs base fare levels against what those fares include, fleet age and cabin comfort, route network usefulness, and the operational safety net behind each carrier. Airlines backed by full-service parent groups score higher on reliability because a cancelled flight is far easier to recover from when the parent airline can rebook you. Industry recognition, including the Skytrax long-haul low-cost category, informed but did not determine the order.
Seat pitch on most of these carriers runs tighter than legacy economy, in-flight entertainment is often stream-to-your-own-device or absent, and irregular operations can be slower to resolve on carriers flying just one or two frequencies per week on a route. If your itinerary has a tight onward connection or a fixed event at the destination, weigh the schedule resilience of a full-service carrier against the savings.
Want to see how full-service carriers compare on the same routes? Our head-to-head comparisons cover the major matchups.