Budget Airlines
 

Which are the best budget airlines flying in the US at the moment? I have flown with Jet Blue, but would like to know of any others.

Southwest is another well-regarded low-cost airline, with the business model that JetBlue is emulating-- they fly one model of plane (Boeing 737), one class, minimal frills, friendly service. In some markets they fly into out-of-the-way airports (Love Field in Dallas, Islip/Long Island in the NYC area). For many routes they price very aggressively, and you can save a bundle (they're constantly running $39 one-way "anywhere in CA" specials). For longer journeys, low rates are very difficult to cobble together, so I stick with the major airlines (and JetBlue) for trans-continental flying. But for flying to SFO or Las Vegas, I love them.

AirTran flies out east, and a friend in Dallas uses them fairly often and likes them. The caveat is that a large portion of their fleet is made up of old DC-9s bought from foreign carriers; maintenance problems are very common. They are, in their defense, replacing the old birds with new Boeing 717s, so chances are good you'll get a new plane with them.

Anyone else...?

chalk another mark up for southwest airlines!

Oh, and Southwest is adding brand-new planes to their fleet on a steady basis-- 737s with wild winglets. So they have the advantage of a young fleet (especially in West Coast markets). As does JetBlue.

I have flown Southwest on short trips of about an hour and have been satisfied. The only thing to remember is that you should srrive at the airport early so that you can get a letter "A" boarding pass. That way you will be the first to board. From what I have heard about Jetblue, it sounds like they offer a ncer product than Southwest. Jetblue has individual TVs at each seat as well as leater seating. I have never flown them so I have no first hand expereince. You can't go wrong with either.

My impression is that a lot of budget carriers, with the exception of Southwest, serve more limited areas. Some I have used include Spirit, AirTran,and ATA, all to fly from Chicago to Miami and/or Ft. Lauderdale.

Frontier is also good.

And United's 'Ted' (or is it 'Ned'?) is new, but supposedly good.

But, as marilynl said, most serve only limited markets, so you may not have much choice in the matter when booking a ticket.

I just wanted to say when you make your reservation try to check all southwest/jetblue/ATA etc. websites, and compair the fare with the big carriers at sites such as expedia, cheaptickets.com. I have actually have found an American Airlines ticket from LAX to Las Vegas that was almost $50 cheaper than the fare on Southwest/JetBlue from the same market. Just take a little bit of time to search around and you can find good deals. If you don't have a time slot you need to fly in, and have an date check out hotwire.com, I found an fare on there from LAX to Bend (Central), Oregon that was $290 (the airlines quoted $670). Just take the time to look around. Good luck on your flighs, and hope to see you on board soon.

I like Southwest on shorthauls because they are cheap and convenient. I also like their Rapid Rewards program though they have recently lowered the bonus rewards that you get for booking online. I don't like flying them for long distances. They are really uncomfortable and I don't like not being able to choose your seat in advance. I just flew nonstop from San Diego to Baltimore and it was pretty miserable.

It's a great idea to look into budget airlines in the US right now given that the service on the so-called 'major' airlines is so bad anyway (no food, etc). It's just a matter of finding one with the route you need. Try using http://www.sidestep.com to scan all possibilities (download to use in your browser).

Add Song by Delta to the list too.

I too have looked at Jet Blue a number of times, but always found a ticket from American for less for where and when I wanted to go.
I have been following Southwest fares for tickets from Reno to LAX in August, but waiting for specials. Meanwhile, the other day I found a special for that route non stop on Alaska airlines for $54 (or $69 with all taxes and fees). That's as good or better than I was eventually hoping to do with Southwest, but now I have the benefit of already having picked my seats (two on the side with only two seats up near the front). If you have time to play, you very well may come out as good or better with the major airlines.

Just an FYI here, nearly all of AirTran's aircraft are the new Boeing 717s. The AirTran fleet is very young and modern with NO DC-9s.

jetBlue is really tough to top, if they go where you want to go. They have received awards as best domestic carrier (budget or not). For the route that I fly on business, IAD-LGB, there is no real competition.

http://www.jetblue.com/learnmore/awards.html

Also recommend Midwest Express. Comfortable seats with more-than-average leg room.

I agree with Dan, I dont think AirTran has any DC-9s in there fleet much less any old planes. The 68 one way fares to Florida (from BWI) is good and I like the service. Each row on the plane sits 2 so If you dont like getting stuck in the middle u have nothing to worry about. Southwest is good esp if your not flying far and want a really cheap flight to Providence(39.00). I hear Jetblue is good but they dont fly out of Baltimore area so I guess I'll never know. 8-/

Like others have said already, AirTran uses the new Boeing 717, which is descended from the DC-9 and MD-80 series. They all have the same fuselage width, and uses 2-3 seating in coach.

The airlines that has only 2-2 seating in the DC-9/MD-80/717 is Midwest (YX). It used to be called Midwest Express, but has dropped the Express part in its name.

The problem with AirTran is that their hub is Atlanta. Everything stops there, almost no direct flights. And who hasn't been delayed in Atlanta?!?

I saw a news article recently about many obscure airlines that fly into St. Pete/Clearwater airport but not Tampa. One that advertises often in our papers is USA3000.com. The article said that one worked in tandem with cruises, but if seats weren't full they would sell to the public. The others would be listed by St. Pete/Clrw. airport, maybe check their web site or call them.

In re Southwest Airlines, we just flew out to Phoenix from Tampa 3/12/2004. Southwest instituted on-line check-in for single ticketed passengers starting at midnight the day of your flight. Since my husband and I got our tickets on line, together, we cannot check-in on-line for this flight, or our return flight, which is today. Those passengers that hold one ticket, can get their boarding passes all the way through. We got to Tampa 1.5 hrs before our flight and got 'B' boarding passes. We then had to get another boarding pass at our stop in Albuquerque, which was a 'C' boarding pass. We got the last two seats together on the remainder of the flight. Am leaving Phoenix today at 3:10pm and I believe this is a full flight. I am not looking forward to the trip home. I will never take a flight with them again, other than New Orleans.
TG: I checked USA3000 as they advertise as little as $79 one-way from Tampa to Chicago. Never did find that exact fare, but did find it for $99 each way, but the only flight leaving St. Pete/Clearwater was after 10pm, no bargain if you ask me. Wound up getting a better deal (direct flight and cheaper) on American Airlines.

One way around the Southwest online check-in is to buy your tickets individually. There is no difference in cost, and that way, you both can use the online check-in. When I book online, I make sure there are not two flight numbers, which means a change of planes. This also makes things easier, too.

Dallas Love field is NOT out-of-the-way, unless you're going to Fort Worth. It's practically in the middle of downtown Dallas! Ditto with Chicago Midway, another big city for SWA.

To me, there's nothing wrong with Southwest, it's just that they do things differently than the other guys.

Dan: You're right! In fact, in January AirTran retired its last DC-9. Their fleet is now all 717s, and they're adding 100 737s, so AirTran is all-new, all Boeing.

"To me, there's nothing wrong with Southwest, it's just that they do things differently than the other guys."

And that includes posting profits while other airlines are in the red!

ChristinaP: I purchased those tickets together, BEFORE Southwest announced online check-in. So in the future when we go to New Orleans, and I fly SW (which I do because of their many time choices for a direct flight from TPA) I will purchase them individually. Couldn't change these reservations without incurring additional costs. AND SW overbooked our return flight by 8 people. With their "no assigned seat" policy, it can sure make a person having a "c" boarding ticket very nervous. We were lucky and go "a" because we had to turn our rental car in 2.5hrs before our flight to avoid the additional hourly charge.
I agree that they run things differently, and some people like it, some don't. I personally for the longer haul prefer to know where I will be seated.

I'm sorry ChristieP, didn't mean to butcher your user name!

No problem, highbay.

We all have our travel preferences. I like SWA because they run on time 90% of the time, they are lower cost, and I'm not picky about where I sit. And I LOVE their Rapid Rewards FF program. :-)