USA equivalent of Easyjet / Ryanair

nw_man

Hi guys,

Looking to book some internal flights in the USA.

However, apart from the big carriers I do not know of any smaller, maybe regional carriers that operate.

Of course we are looking for a bargain

So, we have Ryanair, Easyjet, Jet2 etc etc, who do they have ?

alleycat`

southwestern used to be the cheapest carrier for me (but then again i was mostly in the south west of the US)...
bmibaby operate in the US - not sure how they price out mind.

malkie76

Where are you looking to fly from and to?

Most US carriers are similar to RyanAir / Easyjet in that they offer no frills service and charge for any extras. Typically Southwest and Delta offer the best prices.

dmg24

alleycat` wrote: »

southwestern used to be the cheapest carrier for me (but then again i was mostly in the south west of the US)...
bmibaby operate in the US - not sure how they price out mind.

Are you sure BMIBaby operate in the US? I was not able to find any routes.

malkie76 wrote: »

Where are you looking to fly from and to?

Most US carriers are similar to RyanAir / Easyjet in that they offer no frills service and charge for any extras. Typically Southwest and Delta offer the best prices.

You missed out my fave, JetBlue! Virgin America are pretty competitive too.

alleycat`

bmibaby (equivalent) fly under a different carrier in the US (or they did).
I think it is part of "United" but it was the same sort of pricing structure.

It is a few years ago that i used them - southwestern were nearly always the cheapest.

richardw

If you are flying to/from the UK on a US airline it is some times possible to get free stop overs, www.trailfinders.com can be good for this.

www.southwest.com is enormous.

There are other airlines aswell such as Spiritair and Airtran.
Which routes do you want to fly internally?

dmg24

alleycat` wrote: »

bmibaby (equivalent) fly under a different carrier in the US (or they did).
I think it is part of "United" but it was the same sort of pricing structure.

It is a few years ago that i used them - southwestern were nearly always the cheapest.

United and BMIBaby are not part of the same company, although BMI and United are Star Alliance airlines.

Are you sure you don't mean that you flew on a BMI codeshare flight?

jamiec_3

Try JetBlue and Virgin America

malkie76

dmg24 wrote: »

You missed out my fave, JetBlue!

How could I forget! The first airline to offer live TV in the US!

jamesbrownontheroad

Within the USA, there is no "ultra" low cost airline like Ryanair. Even SouthWest, who have already been mentioned, offer a modicum of service and (crucially) connecting flights on the same ticket. You will not find single digit fares on SouthWest; low cost airlines in the USA have never dared to do what Ryanair have done and go beyond a certain accepted baseline of customer service, so they will never match Ryanair prices. SkyBus was an attempt to be a ultra-low-cost like Ryanair, but it collapsed not long after starting business with very poor passenger feedback.

Ultimately it depends on where you want to travel. Low cost airlines in the USA include AirTran, Allegiant, Horizon, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, Sun Country and Virgin America, but in many cases you'll find they still offer connecting flights, a first or business class cabin and other perks long abandoned by European low cost carriers.

Of the major "legacy" airlines (American, Continental, Delta/Northwest, United and US Airways) only US Airways might be considered a "low cost" carrier. But I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole after they routed me from Glasgow to New York via Philadelphia AND Washington DC. And lost all my luggage. They are an unwieldy airline with many lingering union and labour issues following the merger of America West and the original US Airways companies.

I would use Skyscanner and Kayak to check the airlines serving your route, because promotions may make the legacy airlines the cheapest option.

For the ultra-low-cost option, and amazing scenery, I'd recommend Amtrak.

Oh, and to clarify... BMIBaby have never flown in the USA, nor have they ever had any airline partnership or codeshare in the USA. Their parent airline, the full service BMI British Midland, used to fly trans-Atlantic between Manchester and Chicago, Las Vegas, Washington, the Caribbean and briefly Toronto; all these flights have been discontinued. BMI still have flight numbers as codeshares on flights offered by their Star Alliance partner airlines Continental, United and US Airways.

jamesbrownontheroad

nw_man wrote: »

However, apart from the big carriers I do not know of any smaller, maybe regional carriers that operate.

PS. Beware a small detail in terminology. In the USA, a "regional" airline is generally an independent airline that provides service to one of the major legacy airlines under a franchise. They generally use small jets and turboprops, sometimes with state or federal subsidies to support essential service. Unless you a connecting onto a long haul flight, "regional" airline services are rarely cheap!