I flew from Florida to Italy for $260 using budget airlines. My first flight was cheap, but my experience felt anything but.

• Using budget airlines, I flew from my home in Orlando, Florida, to Venice, Italy, for only $260. • My eight-hour transatlantic flight on Norse Atlantic was surprisingly comfortable and nice. • I wasn't as impressed by the two-hour easyJet flight on the second part of my trip, but it was fine.

I'm a fan of discount carriers and have often flown with Spirit, Frontier, Allegiant, and other low-cost, no-frill options. However, those flights have always been within the Americas and fairly short.

I was skeptical about taking an eight-hour journey across the Atlantic with a budget airline. But when I saw Norse Atlantic's budget-friendly flights from my home in Orlando to London, I couldn't resist.

So, I gave the low-cost airline a try in Economy Light for the first leg of a recent trip t