follow us on twitter, facebook, pinterest, youtube and foursquare

 “how to find the best cheap products” — kiplinger

Home » Travel » Airlines

Cheap Airlines, Best Cheap Airline

Related Guides: Air Mattresses, Car Rentals, Cheap Cruises, Hotels, Luggage, Sunscreen and Travel Sites

The average cost of a one-way ticket in the first and second quarters of 2010 was $320 to $340, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Although such statistics are almost meaningless in an industry because so many factors affect the price you actually pay, experts at Galttech.com point out that the discount airlines play a big role in keeping fares from soaring out of sight.

For one, discount airlines work hard to underprice the big-name carriers; and two, price pressure from the cheap airlines prompts the larger and costlier carriers to offer a limited number of cheap fares to stay competitive.

In our research we looked for cheap airlines that offer one-way airfare for less than $240. Although you get low fares with cheap airlines, booking on one typically means a carrier that doesn't fly to as many destinations as the big airlines and sometimes doesn't fly in or out of major airports. (Remember to factor in driving time and the cost of gas if you need to drive long distances to an airport.) The bargain airlines on our list primarily service cities in the United States, but several can also get you to vacation spots in the Caribbean or Latin America. And don't forget that the price of a ticket these days is just that -- airlines (not just discount airlines) now charge for things such as checked luggage, in-flight food and beverages, additional legroom, blankets, pillows, and so on. When looking for flights on a discount airline, be sure to note all these extra costs as they affect the bottom line.

The two big players in the cheap airline industry are JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines. Smaller names among bargain airlines include Frontier Airlines, AirTran Airways, Spirit Airlines, and Allegiant Air. But aside from price, what makes a discount airline worth flying? The airlines reviews that we read indicate that passengers care about seat comfort, customer service, and baggage handling. Other factors to consider include extra fees, seating policies, and the number of destinations and daily flights.

Consumers' assessments of bargain airlines are generally quite critical. Issues like confusing and/or vague information on web sites, unpleasant encounters with harried airline personnel, unbending policies on ticket exchanges and refunds, and missing luggage only add to generalized concerns about security and overwrought or insufficient (depending on your point of view) ways the airlines and federal government deal with real and potential threats. That said, Southwest and JetBlue landed at the top of our list as best discount airlines. Southwest attracts legions of fans for its baggage-check policy -- it's one of few airlines that don't charge for the first two bags. JetBlue follows Southwest's lead and allows one free bag and assesses $30 for the second.

Once we moved beyond Southwest and JetBlue, we had little choice but to determine which bargain airlines received the fewest unfavorable reviews in order to fill out our list. This is how AirTran and Frontier popped up. Both airlines receive decidedly mixed reviews for customer satisfaction and charge to check all luggage. Spirit earns the harshest reviews among those that we read even though this bargain airline claims its fares are significantly cheaper than other carriers. Consumers are more put off by hefty fees for carry-on and checked baggage and the option of choosing a seat than they are enticed by Spirit's low fares and access to flights for as little as a penny (really) through a membership-only $9 Fare Club.

Airline Ticket Prices.

Occasionally you'll see references in advertisements and media reports to average airline fares. But knowing the average fare for an airline doesn't mean much when you're buying an actual ticket. Fares depend on a variety of factors, including which airport you're leaving from and flying to, travel dates, time of day, how far in advance you've bought the ticket, whether you're flying coach or business class, etc.

Still, knowing how prices compare is useful. To help you out, we priced a round-trip ticket for one adult flying economy/coach from New York City to Las Vegas on January 8, 2011 and returning January 15, 2011 on the bargain airlines on our list and on a major carrier. At the New York end, all the airlines fly out of LaGuardia, with the exception of JetBlue, which uses John F. Kennedy International Airport as a base; Las Vegas has only one airport. Our price comparison results are as follows (prices quoted are before taxes): both Southwest and AirTran post fares starting at $218, followed by Spirit at $264. Frontier and JetBlue come in next with prices starting at $296 and $298, respectively. Continental came in at a whooping starting price of $436 for the New York-Las Vegas trip.

Airline Destinations and Daily Flights.

The number of destinations to which an airline flies says a lot about the airline. If its reach is far and wide, it's surely one of the major carriers and controls landing slots in most larger airports and some secondary airports, as well. The number of daily flights is another clue to its status as major or minor carrier. The cheap airlines tend to be the smaller carriers (fewer destinations, fewer daily flights), and while you get the benefit of lower ticket prices, you sometimes pay in other ways. Chief among them is limited options. For example, Allegiant Air doesn't fly between New York City and Las Vegas; its nearest berth to NYC is Grand Rapids, Mich. There were no flights on the days we wanted to fly, although we could have booked a trip leaving January 9, 2011 to return January 16, 2011 for a competitive $255.

What all this means is that with discount airlines, it's possible you won't find a flight that suits your travel needs and you may have trouble making alternate arrangements if your flight is canceled or delayed. You may also find yourself at an airport that's closer or farther away than you expected. And yet, as the U.S. Department of Transportation notes, flying out of smaller or secondary airports is likely to mean a cheaper flight.

The best and good discount airlines on our list -- Southwest, JetBlue, AirTran, and Frontier -- have decent-sized route systems. These four cheap airlines fly to about 70 cities. Spirit is much smaller and has landing rights at only about 40 destinations. All but Southwest offer international flights to spots such as Cancun, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda, and Colombia. In terms of daily flights, Southwest far exceeds the others with more than 3,200. AirTran comes in second with about 700 daily flights, trailed by JetBlue with about 600, Frontier with about 550, and Spirit bringing up the rear with about 150 daily flights.

Airline Baggage Fees.

Remember the days when you didn't pay to check your luggage if the bags fell within a certain weight limit? Well, in case you haven't flown recently, paying to check your bags is now the norm, and the fees can drastically add to the cost of your flight. Southwest is the only cheap airline we found that doesn't charge for the first two checked bags as long as they weigh less than 50 pounds (a heavier bag is assessed $50); the third through ninth checked bags cost $50 each. On JetBlue, the first checked bag is free, the second costs $30, and the third costs $75; any bag weighing between 50 and 70 pounds is another $50 and any bag heavier than that is an extra $100.

The other cheap airlines assess luggage fees from the get-go. If you fly economy on Frontier, the first two checked bags cost $20 each and the third sets you back $50; baggage weighing more than 50 pounds incurs a $75 fee. As for AirTran, the first checked bag goes for $20, the second for $25, and the third for $50; any piece weighing more than 50 pounds costs another $49 and bags above 70 pounds cost $79. Spirit levies what may be the most onerous charges: a carry-on costs $30, the first checked bag costs $28, the second $35, and the third through fifth a whopping $85 each; for bags more than 50 pounds, the extra cost is $50 and for bags over 70 pounds, the fee rises to $100. Allegiant Air takes a different tack and offers a discount if you pay to check your luggage when buying your ticket; in this case, the cost is $15 to $30 for the first two checked bags. If you pay to check your luggage at the gate, the fee jumps to $35 for each of the first two bags; costs escalate for additional luggage. Allegiant does not handle bags weighing more than 50 pounds and each passenger is limited to five bags.

Airline Seats.

Seat size on cheap airlines is measured two ways: by width and pitch. (The pitch is the distance between point X on the seat in front of you and point X on your seat; i.e., from a spot on the seatback in front of you to the same spot on your seatback.) As SeatGuru.com explains, an inch or two of seat space (width and/or pitch) can make a huge difference in the comfort of your flight (is the person behind you inadvertently kneeing you in the back?). Among the cheap airlines on our list, all provide seats that are 17 to 18 inches wide. Pitch varies by airline and on some carriers by your willingness to buy extra legroom. On Spirit, the pitch ranges from 28 to 36 inches, on Frontier from 30 to 35 inches, and on JetBlue from 32 to 34 inches; if more legroom is high on your list of priorities, you can pay up to $25 for a pitch upgrade with these carriers. The pitch on AirTran seats is 30 to 31 inches and on Southwest it's 32 to 33 inches.

Seating Policies.

Now we arrive at another hot-button issue: seating order. Each cheap airline has its own policies regarding seating, so if you care where you sit, read the fine print. Although SeatGuru.com advises travelers to book as early as possible for the best seat selection, most cheap airlines don't let you choose a seat when buying your ticket. Some offer online check-in, however, which may present the opportunity to select a seat. Alternatively, get to the airport early.

Among the cheap airlines we researched, selecting a seat can be confusing and costly. AirTran lets you select a seat at when buying your ticket but says on the website that you'll be assigned a seat before boarding, regardless. Some seat selections on AirTran are complimentary and some come with a fee (undisclosed until you've bought your ticket), and you can also buy priority boarding for $10. With Spirit and Allegiant you can pick a seat when ordering your ticket, but this privilege costs extra even though the fee isn't stated on their sites; if you don't choose this option, Spirit assigns your seat and Allegiant takes a first-come, first-served approach. Both Frontier and Southwest follow a first-come, first-served seating policy but allow online check-in, which can reduce some seating anxieties. With Frontier you can choose your seat when checking in online and with Southwest, you're assigned a seating order based on check-in time (either online or at the airport), which determines where you stand on line to board which in turn means you choose a seat once you're on the plane. JetBlue also offers online check-in but doesn't address seating assignments or seating order on its website.

Extra Fees.

When it comes to extra fees, look out for your own best interests and follow the advice offered by the U.S. Department of Transportation: find out exactly what you get for the ticket price. Cheap airlines adhere to the industry norm of tacking on additional costs for things like snacks, beverages, extra seat room, seat selection, in-flight movies, Wi-Fi, pillows, and blankets. But again, all the cheap airlines on our list have their own policies. For example, Southwest doesn't charge for a snack and beverage, but it does hit you for $5 for in-flight Wi-Fi. Spirit gets you at almost every turn, from carry-on luggage to choosing a seat to snacks and beverages, which cost $2 to $4 per item. JetBlue charges $10 for extra leg room, $7 for a pillow and blanket, and $6 for a full boxed meal, but flight attendants do hand out a free snack and beverage during every flight and DirecTV and XM satellite radio are complimentary on some flights. Frontier and AirTran provide complimentary beverages but require that you purchase snacks. AirTran also offers complimentary Wi-Fi and XM satellite radio on some flights, but charges $10 for priority boarding.

Back to top »

 

 

 

Allegiant Air
Spirit Airlines
AirTran Airways
Frontier Airlines
Southwest Airlines
JetBlue Airways

 

Travel Car Rentals Hotels Travel Sites

Cheap Airlines Cheap Cruises

Luggage Radar Detectors

blog  about us  contact us  sitemap  in the news  privacy  terms of service  jobs

Follow us on Facebook Twitter Sign up for our Free Newsletter