I used to regularly fly on ultra-low-cost airlines to save money, but the cheap tickets aren't worth the headache anymore

• I used to opt for ultra-low-cost airlines because the cheap fare was worth the same no-frills experience.
• A crackdown on bag size, poor customer service, and worse reliability pushed me away from ULCCs.
• Mainline carriers' basic economy is a better bang for your buck, and it's even sometimes cheaper.

Since I got the travel bug in college, I've spent a lot of time on US airlines — but mostly on ultra-low-cost carriers, or ULCCs, like Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines

I always loved the thrill of scoring a cheap ticket, and my younger self was perfectly OK with the no-frills cabin and stuffing everything into a personal item.