Which IAH budget airline is best? We rank 7 airlines on snacks, seat pitch, checked bags, more

Which wallet-friendly way to fly out of IAH is best for the non-frequent traveler? See our breakdown of the seven IAH budget carriers, ranked from lowest-scoring to highest-scoring, in the following slides.

Ranking methodology: For the categories of Snacks, Entertainment, Seat Selection, Checked Bag, and Overhead Access, each airline carrier was awarded a maximum of 10 points: 10 if the service was free, 5 if the service had an affiliated cost, and 0 if the service was not available. The categories of Median Seat Pitch, On-Time Score, and J.D. Power Score were weighted more heavily. For the category of Median Seat Pitch, the carrier with the smallest pitch length was given 0 points; each carrier ranked higher was given 10 points per median pitch inch longer than the carrier in last place. The points for categories of On-Time Score and J.D. Power Score were awarded in a similar fashion, with the lowest-scoring airline gaining 0 points, and the others gaining 10 points per data point of difference between the lowest and highest-scoring carriers. For example, Virgin America/Alaska Airlines, which had the lowest on-time score, was given 0 points for the category. JetBlue, whose airline flights were on time approximately 3 percent more often, was given 30 points. less Which wallet-friendly way to fly out of IAH is best for the non-frequent traveler? See our breakdown of the seven IAH budget carriers, ranked from lowest-scoring to highest-scoring, in the following ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Which IAH budget airline is best? We rank 7 airlines on snacks, seat pitch, checked bags, more 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

Booking flights has become daunting, and the prospect of purchasing tickets is particularly unnerving to those who don't travel frequently.

Without points or frequent flyer miles to help one score an upgraded seat, a discounted ticket, or any other kind of airline benefits, travelers often just select the cheapest seat to their destination without any insight into the kinds of amenities offered by the carrier.

But there are big differences among low-cost airlines like Southwest and JetBlue, no-frills airlines like Frontier, and the newly-introduced "basic economy" tiers by major carriers like Delta, United, and American.

To help you find your best airline, we took a look at seven domestic carriers that fly out of Bush Intercontinental Airport and assigned them points across nine categories. We looked at median seat pitch, snacks, entertainment, the opportunity to pre-select seats, checked bag cost, carry-on bag allowance, overhead access, on-time score, and the consumer comprehensive J.D. Power Score.

See the above gallery to compare airlines. More information about our methodology below.

So-called "basic economy" tiers by American, Delta and United may at first seem like the best value out there, but that's not actually the case, according to TravelSkills founder Chris McGinnis.

"It's a misconception that airlines lowered fares," he says. "They didn't do that. The cheapest fare became the Basic Economy fare, where if you want more you have to pay extra."

The good news? "It gives opportunities to people who are budget-focused," he says, particularly if those people can gain frequent flyer miles from those flights, like they can to some extent with United and Delta.

But those "budget-focused" fares are not unique to airlines offering the new Basic Economy class. McGinnis says the airlines all price their fares competitively, meaning ticket costs will fluctuate in price based on demand and competition.

Essentially, you can't assume these Basic Economy tiers will be any less expensive than standard fares offered by Southwest, JetBlue, or Virgin America/Alaska Airlines. If you do, you may be facing fees that will make your flight more expensive anyway. As McGinnis says, when they invented this new tier, "they didn't do anyone any favors."

By cutting or tacking on fees to standard services other airlines offer free — checked bag, snacks, and even overhead access — these Basic Economy fares might cost you more once you get to the airport.

If you do book a flight on a Basic Economy tier or on a no-frills carrier like Frontier, try to only do so for a short route, McGinnis advises. "My cutoff (flight time) is two hours," he says. "It it's more I never take Basic Economy fare. Anything beyond West Coast travel I would avoid."

So which airline is best for you? The short answer is that it depends on what you care about. If you hate paying for a checked bag, consider Southwest. If you love legroom, go with JetBlue. If you care most about getting where you're going on time, select Delta Basic Economy.

Ranking methodology

For the categories of Snacks, Entertainment, Seat Selection, Checked Bag, and Overhead Access, each airline carrier was awarded a maximum of 10 points: 10 if the service was free, 5 if the service had an affiliated cost, and 0 if the service was not available.

The categories of Median Seat Pitch, On-Time Score, and J.D. Power Score were weighted more heavily. For the category of Median Seat Pitch, the carrier with the smallest pitch length was given 0 points; each carrier ranked higher was given 10 points per median pitch inch longer than the carrier in last place.

The points for categories of On-Time Score and J.D. Power Score were awarded in a similar fashion, with the lowest-scoring airline gaining 0 points, and the others gaining 10 points per data point of difference between the lowest and highest-scoring carriers. For example, Virgin America/Alaska Airlines, which had the lowest on-time score, was given 0 points for the category. JetBlue, whose airline flights were on time approximately 3 percent more often, was given 30 points.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

