The good news was that I was about to set off on an assignment flying around the world. The bad news was that I was going all the way on low-cost airlines. Such was the challenge I faced as I set out to discover the world of bargain-basement aviation.

The growth of low-cost carriers (LCCs) has been an aviation phenomenon. Things tend not to change fast in this industry, particularly among the major carriers. Yet even here there is a clear acceptance that airlines such as easyJet and Ryanair are forces to be reckoned with. They have the largest short-haul networks of any carrier; and in many cases they are more profitable on an earnings per share basis than their older, larger rivals. In 2015 Ryanair alone carried more passengers than IAG, which owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling. Most of us have grabbed a low-cost flight to the sun for our holidays, but the leisure market isn’t the only place where low-cost travel rules the air. These days, LCCs are often the easiest way of getting between business destinations too. Try flying from London to Vilnius: only Ryanair or Wizz Air can take you non-stop. Leeds to Krakow? Your only non-stop choice is Ryanair (and the fare is less than £35). Bristol to Geneva? EasyJet (non-stop, at least once a day, and at half the price of other airlines, which won’t even take you direct).

Yet still, most of my decisions to travel with a low-cost carrier are taken with a sinking heart. I know it makes sense, I just wish it wasn’t so uncomfortable, unfriendly and inflexible when I need to change my itinerary. Maybe it’s just snobbery, but I always have a residual wish to travel some other way.

It was with this contradiction in mind that I set out to examine the LCC phenomenon – and also discover how these airlines have evolved in different parts of the world.

Vilnius: only Ryanair and Wizzair fly direct

First a word about the phrase “low-cost airline”. The phrase “low cost” does not refer to the low fares you pay. It simply means the airline’s costs are low. This is achieved by adhering to some fundamental principles: the airlines run single-type aircraft in their fleet, usually the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737; they fly these planes constantly, achieving high rates of “utilisation”. The crew are usually on lower-paid contracts than traditional airlines and they work the flight there and back, usually tidying the cabin on the fast turnaround and eliminating costly overnight hotel stays. Finally, of course, they focus on ancillary revenues: passengers pay extra for everything, from putting a bag in the hold, to choosing an exit-row seat with more legroom, to paying for food. LCCs make as much as 25 per cent of their money by selling such extras.

I followed four fundamental rules on my trip. I had to begin and end at the same airport (Gatwick). I had to keep travelling in the same direction, eastbound; no backtracking. I had to cross the Pacific and Atlantic oceans once. And I was allowed no premium seating – I wasn’t even allowed to nab the extra legroom by the emergency exits.

It was impossible to try every LCC, so I had to be selective, choosing ones either fundamental to the industry or doing something different. For instance, no LCC review could ignore easyJet, with which I flew from London to Brussels, or Ryanair (Brussels to Prague). Both, in different ways, perfectly illustrate the low-cost experience: they offer the basics cheaply, then offer something more for a price. Both too are now moving to offer more for business travellers, such as greater flexibility to change tickets, bundling a bag in the hold and even maybe a cup of coffee back into their prices. (Again, for a higher ticket price.)

My journey took me across 10 airlines to nine countries in eight days. Many flights were overnight, which meant that I slept on the planes and filmed during the day. This got a little brutal at times. For instance, the film crew and I left Sharjah on Monday evening, landing in Colombo, Sri Lanka, early Tuesday. We then filmed all day before departing in the late evening for Kuala Lumpur, where we arrived at 7am on Wednesday, filmed all morning and caught a lunchtime flight to Singapore. There we spent the rest of Wednesday shooting. We left Singapore on another red-eye to Sydney, arriving on Thursday afternoon. I avoided mirrors where possible.

LCCs generally stick closely to the low-cost mantra: don’t do anything that will raise the airline’s costs unless passengers pay for it. But there were some startling exceptions. I flew more than five hours with Flydubai from Prague to Dubai, and they gave me a free meal; a flagrant breach of the low-cost bible.

"I nabbed a free meal en route to Dubai - a flagrant breach of the low-cost bible" Credit: Bryan Sinclaire / Alamy

Then there were the new breed of long-haul low-cost carriers, such as Scoot and Norwegian. Conventional wisdom says LCCs cannot do long-haul, because of the extra expenses in flying more than six hours. But these airlines are using new, more fuel-efficient aircraft including the Dreamliner 787 to run eight-hour-plus flights under the low-cost umbrella. Norwegian is expanding its number of flights from the UK, opening up Los Angeles and Boston.

With 40 Dreamliners on order, it is leaving no one in any doubt of its ambitions. The likes of Scoot, Jetstar and Norwegian have also introduced business-class cabins – another no-no in the traditional LCC one-class model. Some even have curtains separating them from the hoi-polloi. While more akin to premium economy, such business classes are a radical departure. The airlines justify them on the grounds that some passengers will pay a bit more for a better seat. Since the plane is rarely full they don’t lose out by giving up a couple of rows for this premium product.

Dame Carolyn McCall, easyJet’s CEO, told me that her airline will never offer a separate cabin for business class, but it will continue to develop products to entice business travellers and keep them happy at a higher price. “I think there’s absolutely no danger, especially in the current environment, that we will lose our low-cost DNA,” she said.

Norwegian is leading a new breed of low-cost carrier with 40 Dreamliners on order

In this changing environment, while some LCCs are bundling in frills to the price, others are trimming back, becoming ultra-low-cost carriers. I flew with Allegiant Air from Honolulu to Los Angeles. The crew were delightfully charming but the plane could only be described as old. It had been flying for 24 years and even had a galley box from previous owners Britannia Airways, which stopped flying under that name a decade ago. The plane had also not been properly cleaned on the short turnaround in Honolulu. It’s a bit much to expect passengers to sit for five hours among crisp fragments and discarded wrappers from previous passengers. Allegiant is ultra-low cost to the point where they don’t even serve hot drinks, I assume to save on coffee-makers and condiments.

What I discovered from my round-the-world epic is that although LCCs share many common features, they are far from uniform. Some, including easyJet, AirAsia and Air Arabia, stick closely to the original mode, rarely venturing too far in experimentation until they are sure it will work. Others, such as JetBlue, are clearly betting on offering a better customer experience. The New York-based airline offers free on-board Wi-Fi and TV, business lie-flat beds on flights across America, and even a larder where economy passengers can grab free biscuits and soft drinks. Of course you could argue that such frills mean JetBlue is not a true low-cost airline; but CAPA, which provides independent aviation market intelligence, and is the bible on such matters, still classifies it as one.

JetBlue is blurring the divide between premium and low-cost carrier

I also noted several possible ways to make a longer low-cost flight go a bit easier. First, if you are travelling with another person or just want more space, consider buying an extra seat so you can have a spare seat next to you. All the major low-cost carriers allow this. Second, check if there are some empty rows (unlikely) before you board and move into them. Finally, don’t be a miser. If it isn’t that much more expensive to go in the extra legroom seats or near the front, pay the money. Buy the amenity kit and blanket on board, splurge on a movie; you’ll have a much more pleasant trip.

The total price of my tickets came to around £1,653 – about half the price of a round-the-world economy ticket for the same routing.

The truth is the difference between travelling low cost and travelling in economy with legacy carriers like BA, Lufthansa and Air France, isn’t that large. Indeed a properly run low-cost flight with a friendly crew serving food to buy is often significantly better than the sour-faced experience you might get from flight attendants who begrudge serving a hard bread roll to economy passengers.

From my experience, then, low cost need not mean low expectations.

Richard Quest presents Quest Means Business on CNN. Part one of his round-the-world trip can be seen on CNN Business Traveller at 4.30pm next Saturday (April 16).