If you are on a tight budget or just want to find the best deal on a flight, flying on a cheap airline can save you a lot of money that you can use for other parts of your trip. In the past few years, there have been a lot more cheap airlines that sell cheap tickets for cheap flights, which is good for you.
Most of the time, there isn't much of a difference between a cheap airline's coach seat and one on one of the "Big Six" airlines (American, United, Delta, Northwest, Continental, and US Airways). In some situations, it's better to fly on a cheap airline, at least one with leather seats, free satellite TV, and other perks, than on a big airline company. Check the websites of low-cost airlines if you want to find really cheap flights. Some, like Southwest, only sell tickets on their own website. Some people give their own customers the best deals. And if you buy directly from a cheap airline site, you won't have to pay the small fee that sites like Orbitz charge for each transaction.
Top Low-Cost Airlines Serving US Cities
JetBlue. When JetBlue began flying in 2000, no one thought the cheap flights between New York and Florida would make much of a difference. Flyers started switching to JetBlue after trying out its easy online ticket-buying system, Airbus A320s, single-class system, leather seats, free satellite TV in every seatback, friendly flight attendants, and low ticket prices. JetBlue has won a lot of awards from reliable sources, including Best US Airline, Best Domestic Airline, Best Budget Airline, and Best Value for Cost. This cheap but cool airline keeps growing as more and more people decide to fly with them. As of March 2006, JetBlue flew to 35 cities, including Las Vegas, West Palm Beach, Nassau in the Bahamas, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Southwest. Usually, if you buy tickets in advance, you can get big discounts. This is helpful for people who are planning a wedding with a lot of guests coming from other parts of the country. When the airline has one of its frequent sales, the already low prices drop even more. Southwest serves 63 cities in 31 states with flights. The new Southwest planes have seats made of leather. Seat numbers, on the other hand, are not given by the airline. At check-in, you get a boarding pass that doesn't have a number on it. This means you can sit in any empty seat.
Spirit Air. Spirit Air flies to 29 destinations. Spirit Air is different because it has two classes inside the cabin. It's very cheap to upgrade to Spirit Plus, which has leather seats that are a little bit roomier than coach, more leg room, free drinks, and a strange, salty snack (who decided to give passengers beef jerky and cheese sauce?). Still, even cheapskates and couples with limited funds like to travel in first class every once in a while. Spirit sells upgrades for $30 to $50 online and at the gate, if they are available.
Delta's Song and United's Ted are cheap and fun spin-offs of their parent airlines.
The airline AirTran. It flies to 54 places, and its main airport is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It has put XM Satellite Radio with more than 100 digital channels in its new Boeing 737-700s.
Frontier Airlines . Its main hub is in Denver, and it flies to 48 cities in 29 states and 5 cities in Mexico. In-cabin satellite TV carries 25 channels.
