Budget airlines in Southeast Asia are getting cramped, but is a few hours of discomfort worth saving hundreds of dollars? On a recent flight from Hanoi to Bangkok with VietJet, I paid just $45 including taxes, while Vietnam Airlines quoted $120 for the same route. The seats were narrow, there was no complimentary water, and the departure was delayed 40 minutes, yet I still found myself calculating that I could book three more trips for what I saved on one. Frequent flyers often complain about hidden fees for baggage and seat selection, but in my experience the final price still beats full-service carriers on most routes under three hours. The real question is whether airlines should improve basic comfort standards, or whether passengers simply get what they pay for in an industry where price competition has become brutal.