Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)
-   Air Travel (https://www.fodors.com/community/air-travel/)
-   -   Are there Cheap Airlines in the US like Ryanair, etc? (https://www.fodors.com/community/air-travel/are-there-cheap-airlines-in-the-us-like-ryanair-etc-884411/)

abetterword Mar 30th, 2011 06:27 AM

Are there Cheap Airlines in the US like Ryanair, etc?
 
Just wondering if there are low cost airlines for flying within the US? Thanks!

AAFrequentFlyer Mar 30th, 2011 06:59 AM

If you mean like $5 for flight, no, there isn't one.

That said, most of the US domestic flights can be bought cheap if booked early.

Try www.kayak.com for fare comparison.

abetterword Mar 30th, 2011 07:16 AM

thanks!

tomfuller Mar 30th, 2011 08:27 AM

Here's one you won't find on Kayak. They are cheapest on the days they fly to a particular city. Their 2 main bases are Las Vegas and Phoenix-Mesa. Their planes take off from one of the bases taking passengers back home. The plane is on the ground for 50 minutes and goes back to base with a new load.
If you just have carry on you can avoid fees and waiting for the baggage cart. http://www.allegiantair.com/

lcuy Mar 30th, 2011 11:34 AM

Allegiant air, Southwest are two that I've used. I don't think either one shows up on Kayak, so after you check out their offerings, so to the SWA or allegiant sites.

rkkwan Mar 30th, 2011 11:42 AM

Sprit and Allegiant are ones that most follow the European low-fare model. Fares of Southwest, Jetblue, Virgin America, Frontier and AirTran are usually matched by the "legacy" carriers, so I don't consider them low-cost.

Of course, Allegiant has only 52 planes and Spirit 35, and they only serve some of the markets in the US. You should first tell which route you're flying.

lcuy Mar 30th, 2011 01:43 PM

I use Southwest when they have their $49 specials, but you're right rkkwan, on some routes they can be as much or more than the big guys. Always pays to shop around.

Geordie Mar 30th, 2011 09:20 PM

As other people have mentioned, I have never found airlines like Southwest or JetBlue particularly cheap.

If travelling from Europe, I would try to use a travel agency specialising in cheap airfares, there are lots of them.

Get them to work out a price for you, based on multiple flights. In the past I've used airline and online agencies like expedia and have plugged in multi-city options, and I've always got back an outrageous fare.

A couple of years ago I flew Munich - NY - Chicago - Vegas - DC in April for 600 Euros including taxes, the alternative pricing per the airlines website was around 1800 euros

qwovadis Mar 31st, 2011 04:59 AM

Yes there are.

spirit.com 49 flights even free flights for me with their CC

jetblue.com

allegiant southwest.com virgin several others just shop around

based on your route for best savings.

cheapoair.com kayak.com/buzz for most of the majors

but you have to surf around for many of the others.

qwovadis Mar 31st, 2011 05:01 AM

for got about AirTran good deals sometimes

get my best deals on Spirit.com

as a member of the $9 fare club amazing values there.

Even got FREE US to Colombia RT not long ago with FF miles

abetterword Mar 31st, 2011 05:56 AM

thanks all for the help.

spirit and allegiant look great but probably wont help me on this flight. need to fly from ohio to norfolk VA (going to outer banks) and it looks like they dont fly to those yet.

kayak is an awesome site.

tomfuller Mar 31st, 2011 06:54 AM

Allegiant flies from Youngstown and Huntington West Virginia to Myrtle Beach, SC. If the schedule works for you, rent a car in Myrtle Beach and drive north to Cape Hatteras. Do you have a week or less?
Amtrak goes to Norfolk (with bus to VA Beach) from Washington DC. Fly to Reagan National, take the Metro to Union Station to catch your train.

abetterword Mar 31st, 2011 09:11 AM

hmmm those actually sound good, ill have to check what the prices are for amtrak. im not leaving until july so i have some time.

abetterword Mar 31st, 2011 09:28 AM

looks like it would be about the same to fly to washington and take the train to norfolk as it would be to just get a round trip flight to norfolk. could probably get a cheap bus once i get to norfolk


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:36 PM.