Budget Airlines - Travel Deals

When Mexico was dealing with one bad news story after another, it seemed like the entire country was on sale for travelers. In some cases, it might have even felt like they were paying you to come visit. You may still be able to find great deals on flights to Mexico at certain times of year due to less-than-ideal weather or some other bit of bad press, but one way to increase your chances of finding cheap fares to Mexico is by making sure you’re including the budget airlines that fly to Mexico in your search.

Like most other countries, Mexico has a host of smaller “no frills” airlines serving airports throughout the country in addition to the big airlines with more familiar names. Some of them are technically “regional” airlines, in that they serve only a few cities in one particular part of Mexico, and not all of them cross the border into the United States. But some of the discount airlines in Mexico do serve some cities in the United States, so if you’re planning a Mexican vacation they’re definitely the airlines you should be looking at.

Recently we looked at some of the budget airlines in the United States to help you save money on your next trip - but if you looked at the list of those airlines, you’ll have noticed that our neighbor to the north is sadly missing from the destination lists of most of them. That’s right, Canada gets no love from the big U.S.-based discount airlines.

That’s not to say all flights to Canada are going to cost an arm and a leg, however, or that the only budget airlines serving Canadian airports are products of Canada, either. In fact, many of the cheap flights to Canada you’ll find are on airlines with names you’ll probably recognize - you just might be on a much smaller plane than you’re used to.

Canada used to be blessed with more of its own home-grown budget airlines, but carriers like Jetsgo (who doesn’t love that name? I so love that name!) and Zoom Airlines have folded in recent years because of the nearly impossible task of putting the words “airline” and “profitable” in the same sentence these days. One budget airline from years gone by didn’t completely disappear, and for years has been operating charter flights only - but they’re poised to make a comeback into the discount flight arena in 2010. That airline, along with other discount carriers that fly into Canada, are listed below.

Who doesn’t love a bargain? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t feel a certain amount of satisfaction when they can avoid paying full price for something, whatever it is. When it comes to travel, the victory can feel even sweeter. The thing is, when you hear the word “discount” you might think you’re getting sub-par service - which you might be willing to tolerate, if it means you still get to go somewhere fun. But when you pair the word “discount” with the word “airline” that might conjure up images of unsafe planes or something.

The reality is quite different from that image, however, with some of the discount airlines operating in the United States offering luxuries the bigger carriers have long since eliminated from their services. And with so many of the so-called “legacy carriers” cutting back on their amenities anyway, the gap between what you get on a flight with a discount airline and what you get on a big airline has decreased dramatically.

In this article, we’ll take a look at what you can expect from discount airlines in the U.S., and give you a list of some of the bigger domestic discount carriers you should definitely keep in mind for your next trip.

All AirTran Airways destinations are on sale for travel through November 15, 2006. The lowest sale fares are available for travel on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and additional sale fares are available for travel on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Book your tickets by Tuesday, July 11, 2006. These fares require a 14-day advance purchase and are not valid for travel on Fridays or Sundays.

Buy your tickets by July 11, 2006, 11:59 pm ET and fly through November 15, 2006. A 14-day advance purchase required.

Fares are not valid for travel September 4, 2006.

If you are unable to locate a particular fare, try searching on different travel dates or times, as fares are subject to availability and sell out quickly.

Travel may originate in either city, all fares are one-way, no roundtrip required.

AirTran

If you’re looking for a no-frills airline in Canda, make sure to search out WestJet.

Named Canada’s most respected corporation for customer service in 2005, WestJet pioneered low-cost high-value flying in Canada.

WestJet is Canada’s leading low-fare airline offering scheduled service throughout its 34-city North American network. If you’re traveling around Canada, don’t forget about them!

What They Do:
List the websites of various no-frills airlines in the United States.

What They Don’t Do:
There are no direct booking options on the website. There are no links to North America flying low-cost carriers, just those in the US of A.

Best For:
Links to pitifully few low-cost airlines in the States.

LowCostAirlinesUSA.org