Discount Airline Directory
12/19/2007
Most budget airlines are not listed in travel agent search systems, nor online sites like Travelocity. Kayak includes a few more than the other sites, but most still do not appear in search engines.
Much of this has to do with politics and economics. Sabre which is the search engine travel agents use, and the primary source for most online search sites, is controlled by the non discount airlines. To book on most discount airlines, you have to know about them, where they fly, and search them one by one.
Discount versus Charter
I have separated discount versus charter airlines. I define a discount airline as an airline that flies regular schedules, versus a charter which flies different places each week and usually has a very limited number of planes. Charter airlines often have less than 5 planes, while discount airlines often have a dozen or more.
Have More?
If you have more airlines to list, please comment and I will add them. The initial European focus is not intentional, it's just a fact that I travel in Europe more than anywhere else.
Airlines
| Country | Name | Type | Notes | |
| Europe | ||||
| Belgium | Brussels Airlines | Formerly Virgin Express | ||
| Cyprus | EuroCypria | Charter | Subsidiary of Cyprus Airways | |
| KTHY | Discount | Only flies to and from Turkey, or to UK and Germany with stop over in Turkey. Flies from North Cyprus and special travel restrictions may apply. | ||
| Finland | Blue1 | Discount | Persistently unfriendly staff, but safe and cheap. Food is not included even on long flights, and is sold at high prices. Even a simple cup of tea (which they only fill half full) costs 2 euros! Bring a lunch! | |
| France | Vueling | Discount | Spanish airline, but also has a hub in Paris. | |
| Germany | LTU | Charter | ||
| German Wings | Discount | |||
| Air Berlin | Discount | |||
| Condor | Charter | Subsidiary of Lufthansa | ||
| TUI | Charter | |||
| Greece | Aegean | Discount | Excellent service. | |
| UK | Ryan Air | Discount | ||
| EasyJet | Discount | |||
| Thomas Cook | Charter | |||
| Netherlands | Transavia | Discount | Part of KLM group. | |
| Russia | Rossiya | Discount | Hub in St Petersburg.Formerly Pulkovo. Can be a bit tricky if you do not speak Russian, but a decent airline none the less. | |
| S7 | Discount | |||
| SkyExpress | Discount | |||
| UTAir | Discount | |||
| Spain | Vueling | Discount | ||
| ClickAir | Discount | |||
| Switzerland | Helvetic | Discount | ||
| USA | ||||
| Jet Blue | Discount | |||
| AirTran | Discount | |||
| Southwest | Discount | |||
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