Airlines Advice - flying on budget

The phenomenon of budget airlines is slowly catching up. The most well-known budget carriers include Southwest Airlines, Ryanair and Easyjet.

These airlines are offering the discounts directly on their websites thereby bypassing the travel agents. This is resulting in substantial savings for the consumers.

They are increasingly selling some of the tickets themselves thereby diverting the consumers away from the travel sites such as Expedia and Travelocity. For instance, Jetblue doesn't offer the tickets through other travel sites. US Airways and Northwest are also planning to sell more tickets directly to the customers.

These moves are likely to bring down the costs of tickets for the end users. Below are some of the resources and direct links to the airlines.

Many have cut on the fares by doing away with meals, entertainment and number of flight attendants. Many no frills options are available including Southwest airlines, Ted, Song, America West, Frontier and Sun Coutry.

Southwest flys all across the nation on multiple routes. Airline safety and baggage security is also considered good. Jet Blue also provide comfortable flights with large seats and onboard entertainment though lack in food division. Delta airlines offered its own low cost version called Song. It provides low cost tickets without sacrificing comfort and safety, though one needs to buy the meals if required. United airlines is among the other larger players that introduced low cost airline called Ted. Fares are quite reasonably priced though seats are small and meal offerings are minimal.

Quick update on travel

Major players

American Airlines - Features information about flight schedules, fares and the company's frequent travel program.

Midwest Express Airlines - Milwaukee based domestic carrier and partner with American Airlines; flight schedules and fleet details.

American Airlines Priority Parcel Service - Sameday airport-to-airport shipping service to over 250 cities around the world.

SeatGuru - Guide to United, American, Delta, Continental, Northwest and US Airways airlines passenger seating.

Alaska Airlines - Flight information, schedules, reservations city guide, vacation packages and frequent flyer plan updates.

Wings of Alaska Airlines - Scheduled and charter air service operating in Southeast Alaska and Western Canada. Site includes information on schedules, flightseeing, aircraft, and many great photos.

Aloha Airlines - Regional Hawaiian airline. Includes flight schedules, online booking and cargo services.

Spirit of Aloha - Inflight magazine of Aloha Airlines, but also noted for its mainstream features.

America West Airlines - Arizona based airline with flight schedules, contact, services, schedules and frequent flyer club.

America West Airlines Master Executive Council - Pilots association at America West Airlines

Continental Airlines - Flight schedules, reservations, vacation specials and corporate information.

Continental Airlines - Services and information.

Copa Airlines - Affiliate of Continental Airlines, serving the country of Panama. Offers schedule of flights, online ticketing engine, photos and information about their fleet of planes, online customer service form and contact information.

Delta Air Lines - One of the largest airlines in the world, Delta maintains its world-wide hub at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines - Subsidiary of Delta airlines with bases in Atlanta, Georgia and Dallas FortWorth Texas. Offers frequent flyer information, schedules, customer care and news.

SkyWest Airlines - Delta Connection and United Express carrier; fares, flight schedules and fleet information.

Frontier Airlines, Inc. - Provides low-fare, full-service scheduled airline services to and from select cities in the United States.

Frontier Airlines - Denver based national airline, includes company information, employment opportunities, travel programs, flight specials, and current airport regulations.

Northwest Airlines - Includes travel planner, frequent flyer centre and online reservations.

Mesaba Holdings, Inc. - Holding company with subsidiary which provides scheduled passenger airline transportation services, under designation of Northwest Airlines Inc flights, to various cities in the United States and Canada.

Northwest Airlines Meteorology - Providing weather forecasting products for the aviation industry, including specialized turbulence and thunderstorm forecasts.

Cheap flights on Southwest airline tickets - Resources on cheap flight tickets on Southwest airlines.

Spirit Airlines - Carrier with limited service between American airports; flight schedules and company profile.

Southwest Airlines - Includes reservations, schedules, fares and vacation packages.

China Southwest Airlines - Operates out of Chengdu, China and company profile.

Southwest Spirit - The magazine of Southwest Airlines. Back issues available online.

Catch Our Smile - The story of PSA Pacific Southwest Airlines.

Major Airlines - Resources on major airlines.

United Airlines - Includes route information, employment links and online booking.

UAL Corporation - Air carrier, main subsidiary is United Airlines. Includes corporate and financial data, route information, employment links, and online booking.

United Cargo Airlines Inc. - Information about the services, flight availability, real-time reservation booking and confirmation and shipment tracking.