Look to Low-Cost and Niche Airlines for Low Fares

One of the best ways to get the lowest fares is to know where low-cost and niche airlines fly. These carriers allow you to create your own system of airfare options. They can even help when you are traveling to some cities without low-cost or niche service by providing a low-cost alternative airport option. Low-cost carriers offer point-to-point pricing and simplified fare structures. Major airlines usually match low-cost carrier fares. As a result, prices go down, sometimes by as much as 75% during promotional and intensely competitive start-up periods. This happens even in cases where just one low-cost airline serves a market. When Southwest Airlines originally entered Baltimore, fares went down and traffic went up. Now Baltimore is a vital low-cost airport. Florida used to be a high-ticket destination. Now with the presence of Southwest, AirTran, JetBlue, Delta Express, and MetroJet, Florida can be one of the lowest-priced destinations in the United States.

The General Accounting Office tracked the percentage of decrease in airfares created by the entry of a strong low-cost carrier into particular markets. Some examples: Albuquerque, N.M., 32.4%; El Paso, Texas, 31.5%; Harlingen, Texas, 20.1%, Houston (Hobby), 28.3%; Kansas City, Mo., 25.1%; Las Vegas, 32.2%; Midland, Texas, 31.1%; Phoenix, 32.4%; Reno, Nev., 21.1%; San Diego, 24.1%; Seattle, 27.1%; and Tucson, Ariz., 22.7%.

Many low-cost and niche airlines offer great one-way prices. They don't penalize you for not purchasing a roundtrip. This is a big plus for travelers who prefer not to stay over a Saturday night. You can even get good last-minute fares because their walk-up rates are far lower than the fares major airlines charge when advance purchase requirements are not met. Low-cost and niche airlines also tend to allocate a higher percentage of seats to their lowest prices than do their major carrier competitors.

Some low-cost and niche airlines base their fares on advance purchase and peak and off-peak times, varying by airline. Others use inventory-controlled pricing: a certain number of seats are sold at the lowest price, then the fare goes up to the next increment. Inventory-controlled fares are not usually affected by advance purchase requirements, but your chance of getting the lowest fare improves when you can book in advance.

First-class travel on low-cost carriers can be a definite bargain on those carriers that offer it. AirTran and ProAir offer premium-class travel for as little as $25 more per direction. Dallas Love Field-based Legend Airlines and Milwaukee-based Midwest Express offer business class-style travel at coach prices.

Low-cost carriers are also available for international travel. For travel to Europe, options include CityBird, Icelandair, LTU, and Spanair. Within Europe, Ryanair has been offering almost unbelievably low fares in its bid to become Europe's dominant low-cost airline. Other options include British Airways' Go, Virgin Express, and Debonair.

Low-cost and niche airlines tend to be dynamic, adding new routes frequently. For example, Vanguard gains attention and does some good for the communities it serves by periodically offering a free roundtrip ticket for a case of food donated to a local food bank. Southwest, the low-cost carrier that is also a major airline (in terms of number of passengers served), was the prime force behind the double frequent-flyer credit for online booking.

Here is a listing of select niche airlines. Each listing of cities served begins with the type of aircraft flown. Hub cities are listed in italics.

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