Use discount airlines to save money on your next vacation
The past few decades have seen an incredible revolution in the
world of the airline industry. Low cost and discount airlines
took the industry by storm with their focus on getting their
passengers to their chosen destinations with no frills and the
least expense possible. Discount airlines like Jet Blue and
Southwest have proven that airlines can be successful without
offering the frills and first class seats that many of the old
line airlines found so indispensable.
As a matter of fact, for the past several years the low cost air
carriers have been the only ones able to turn a profit. While
many traditional airlines are struggling to make a profit,
Southwest and Jet Blue have been profitable almost from their
inception.
In addition, low cost airlines have helped to lower prices
across the board in the airline industry. When a low cost air
carrier starts flying out of a specific destination, the
traditional airlines often have little choice but to lower their
prices in response to the new competition. This has helped make
air travel affordable for a large segment of the population that
had never before been able to take advantage of the option of
flying.
When low cost airlines first began operations, they kept costs
lower primarily by cutting out the extras; anything that did not
focus directly on getting passengers where they were going on
time was cut back or eliminated. For instance, where traditional
air carriers served entire meals, low cost carriers offered bags
of peanuts or boxes of snacks. Most low cost carriers also cut
out movies and entertainment on their flight, although low cost
Jet Blue was the first to offer live television on their planes
for a low fee.
The irony in this situation is that traditional airlines have
begun to cut back on these very items, with many traditional
carriers now offering no meal service at all, or charging fees
for the meals they do serve.
What all this means to the budget minded traveler is that
airfare costs can be much lower than in the past. While airfares
still do fluctuate widely, it is generally possible to find a
reasonable price for destinations around the country and around
the world.
The key, of course, is to shop early and shop well. The internet
provides a great way to search for the lowest airfares. Every
low cost and traditional airline has its own web site, and it is
important to check these web sites often for prices to your
particular destination. There are also a number of comparison
web sites where you can simply type in the originating and
destination airports and the web site provides the lowest fares
on various airlines. In many cases the lowest price will be a
low cost carrier, but the increased level of competition means
that the lowest price will sometimes be with a traditional
carrier as well.
The lowest airfares, both on low cost airlines and traditional
ones, are often those that are booked at least a month ahead.
Fares for last minute flights are often extraordinarily high,
even on the low cost carriers. So the key to getting the best
deal is to shop early.