What kind of airline is Volaris?

Volaris is an ultra-low-cost airline. Fares for the seat can be very low. However, you’ll pay for anything you want beyond the seat, such as checked luggage, choosing your seat in advance, drinks during the flight, and more.

How old are Volaris airplanes?

Volaris has 129 aircraft, and the average age of planes is 6.5 years. That means some are newer and some are older. We had a flight on an older plane that had obvious signs of wear and tear, but we also had flights on newer planes that looked flawless inside.

How big are Volaris seats?

You’re probably asking about pitch, which is the distance from your seat to the seat in front of you — the space at your knees, most likely. Depending on the plane, Volaris offers 30 to 32 inches of pitch in its standard seats but 36 inches of pitch in the exit row.

Do I have to pay for a seat on Volaris?

No, you don’t. You can let the airline randomly assign your seat during check-in, and there’s no cost for this. There’s no guarantee you will be seated with other travelers on your reservation, however. If you want to choose your seat, there is a fee that varies based on what seat type you choose and whether it’s in a preferred location.

What It’s Like Flying Volaris, the Mexican Ultra-Low-Cost Airline [November 2024 Review]

Updated: December 2, 2024, 8:00am CST

Edited by:

Jump to Section

Volaris Positives
Volaris Negatives
Final Thoughts

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

Whether it’s a low-cost or ultra-low-cost airline, people have strong opinions. I’m rather indifferent.

Does the airline get me where I need to go at a fair price and at the time I need it to? If so, I’ll book it. And that’s how my wife and I recently wound up on 3 different Volaris itineraries, flying this ultra-low-cost Mexican airline for our first (and second, third, and fourth) time.

We flew 2 domestic segments plus an international itinerary, starting in Los Angeles (LAX) and connecting through Guadalajara (GDL) en route to Mérida (MID), so we got a good feel for what this airline is like over the past few weeks.

What’s it like flying with Volaris? Here’s what we learned.

Volaris Positives

Let’s start with the good stuff. Here’s what we liked about flying with Volaris in late October and early November 2024.

Flight Attendants Were Friendly and Helpful

Inside the planes, we liked the hospitality of all the flight attendants we encountered. They were quick to offer help when people were trying to find their seats or struggling to get their bags into the overhead bins. Moreover, flight attendants were very proactive in organizing the overhead bins to maximize space for passengers who were still boarding.

Exit Row Space Is Excellent

As an ultra-low-cost carrier, pitch (the space between your seat and the seat in front of you) was minimal. I’m less than 6 feet tall, and my knees were pressed firmly into the seat in front of me. That was rather uncomfortable when sitting in the standard seats.

Volaris economy seat pitch — This standard seat was uncomfortable.

On the second of our 4 flights, however, our randomly assigned seats put us in the exit row. The space here was surprisingly great.

Volaris economy space at knees exit row — Space galore at the knees in the exit row.

For perspective, the small tray table didn’t even come over my lap when extended because I was so far removed from the seat in front of me. While not the most convenient to use the table, I appreciated the copious amounts of space.

Volaris tray table economy row — I was pretty far away from that tray table.

Volaris charges between $19.99 and $22.99 (among its other fees as a low-cost carrier) to choose seats in the exit row. If you’re tall or flying far, this could be well worth it.

Generous Checked and Carry-On Baggage Rules

I’m very used to checked bag limits being about 23 kilograms (or 50 pounds) on flights. Volaris’s weight limit on checked luggage is a bit more, at 55 pounds, however. That’s nice if you’ve got a few souvenirs coming home with you after your luggage is already heavy enough.

The real surprise was the carry-on luggage limit. Confirmation emails for our reservations said we could bring a personal item and a carry-on with a combined weight limit of 44 pounds. I can’t remember any airline permitting that much weight for other flights I’ve taken.

Volaris itinerary information carry on — Image Credit: Volaris

Checking In for Domestic Flights Is Easy

Volaris permits online check-in up to 5 days in advance. Oddly enough, its website says you can check in online, but entering the reservation number simply took us to a page saying we needed to download the mobile app and check in that way.

Checking in through the app for domestic flights was easy, and it provided 2 benefits. First, it avoided the long lines at the airport for check-in, letting us go to the “bag drop only” line. You could bypass the counters altogether if you weren’t checking luggage and had a boarding pass from online check-in.

Volaris standard check in line OAX Oaxaca — The standard check-in line (left) and the bag drop line (right) in Oaxaca (OAX).

The second benefit was getting an earlier boarding group. Checking in early gave us group 1 boarding, which meant we waited in shorter lines, boarded earlier, and found more overhead bin space available for our backpacks. Those checking in at the airport seemed like they all received group 3 boarding — the last boarding group — and many of these customers had their carry-on bags gate-checked.

Bottom Line:

Using the mobile app to check in up to 5 days before departure helps you avoid lines at the airport and get an earlier boarding group.

Volaris Negatives

There were some elements we didn’t like about Volaris. Here’s what they were and why we didn’t like them.

Checking In for International Flights Is Complicated

While using the app for online check-in was a breeze, we couldn’t manage to check in this way for our flight starting from Los Angeles (LAX). Even after trying to manually enter our passport details or scan the passports themselves, the app kept telling us information was missing, prohibiting us from going to the next page. And the website said checking in through the app was the only option.

Once we got to the airport, the check-in kiosks wouldn’t let us proceed either. Thus, we had to wait in a long line to check in with an agent, and we were in the last boarding group.

Volaris economy view up aisle — On board a Volaris flight.

Not All Planes Are Well-Maintained

We flew on 4 different planes over 4 weeks. Some of them seemed quite new in terms of features and what wear and tear we found (or didn’t).

Volaris seat padding — Seats on a newer plane.

Other planes felt older but still seemed like they were in good condition.

Volaris economy cabin — Looking forward from my seat on the flight from Cancun (CUN) to Oaxaca (OAX).

However, our flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Guadalajara (GDL) — our very first Volaris flight — had an old plane that was not well maintained. The seat in front of me had a hole near the tray table latch, and the padding was separating from the seat’s frame.

Volaris broken pieces of seat — Broken pieces of the seat.

That same flight had lots of crumbs on the floor between seats, which didn’t create a good first impression. Luckily, other flights were cleaner.

Volaris crumbs between seats — A good vacuum was needed.

Boarding Is Disorganized

On all of our Volaris flights, gate agents started the boarding process before customers could actually enter the plane. Whether it was the door inside the airport or the door to the plane, there was a door closed when boarding started.

That meant customers stood around inside the holding area or jet bridge. Why not ensure passengers can actually get onboard the plane when boarding starts?

Volaris disorganized boarding at Cancun CUN — Scanning our boarding passes to then stand around.

Inflight Entertainment Isn’t Free

Volaris employees referred to this as inflight Wi-Fi a few times, and that is inaccurate. There is no Wi-Fi or inflight internet available on Volaris flights. What the airline has is a network you can join to access entertainment. That’s not free, though. The cost was MX$40, which is about $2.

Volaris inflight entertainment cost — Cost to access the inflight entertainment. Image Credit: Volaris

If you didn’t pay, there were only 2 elements you could access: the inflight map and some magazines. The flight map was strange, though, as it didn’t show the departure or destination airport locations for any context of how far we were on the flight.

Volaris inflight map — The map seemed more bare than normal. Image Credit: Volaris

It was also possible to access the last 6 issues of Volaris Magazine to read about its destinations.

Volaris inflight magazines — Complimentary inflight magazines about Volaris’ destinations. Image Credit: Volaris

However, everything else showed a locked icon if you didn’t pay for the entertainment service. Was it worth paying? There were dozens of movies and TV shows to choose from.

Volaris inflight movies — Image Credit: Volaris

There also were numerous games, and I was surprised that even these were locked if you didn’t pay for the inflight entertainment service. This was an aspect I assumed would be free. The same applied to the kids’ section with cartoons and games.

Volaris inflight games locked — Games available after you purchase entertainment. Image Credit: Volaris

Final Thoughts

Did Volaris leave us yearning for another flight with the airline in the future? No. Was it good enough? Yes.

We had modest expectations for flights with this low-cost carrier, and it was the best option available while traveling during the busy Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday period in Mexico. Other flights were sold out or not available for award redemptions, and the price with Volaris worked for us.

There were some negatives, such as aircraft maintenance and disorganized boarding, but the flight attendants were helpful, and using the app was easy on the domestic portions of our trip. I wouldn’t go out of my way to fly Volaris in the future, but I would be willing to fly this airline again.