Travel&Vacation

Ed Perkins on Travel

Southwest, AirTran, JetBlue and other low-fare airlines have revolutionized domestic air travel by bringing low, uncomplicated fares to important air routes and forcing the old-time legacy lines into matching their rates. Copycat startup lines such as easyJet and Ryanair have done the same thing in Europe, and dozens of new lines are bringing low fares to Asia, Australia, South America, and the South Pacific.

Until now, comparable services on overseas long-haul routes have either been lacking or keeping a low profile. But that situation is changing, at least in a small way. Here’s a rundown of the largely unknown or startup lines bringing low-fare competition to intercontinental routes.

“Classic” low-fare lines

Several lines emulate the model of the successful domestic lines, with daily or near-daily year-round nonstop flights on popular routes:

Eurofly, an established low-fare line based in Italy, links New York’s JFK with several cities in Italy, including Milan and Rome. Mid-July round-trip fares from New York to Rome start at $1,119, including taxes and charges. A seat in business class is $3,138, although the line currently promotes a business-class twofer for around $3,650.

Flyglobespan, an established Scotland-based holiday airline, plans to start transatlantic service to the United States this month. The year-round route will link JFK with Knock (Ireland) and Liverpool, with daily service. In addition, seasonal summer routes will link Boston with Glasgow and Knock; JFK with Knock and Liverpool; and Orlando (Sanford) with Belfast and Glasgow. Mid-July round-trip fares from New York to Liverpool start at around $700, including taxes and charges in regular economy. A seat in business class costs $1,250.

Zoom, a U.K.-based subsidiary of an established Canadian low-fare line, plans to start daily nonstops between JFK and London (Gatwick). Mid-July round-trip fares start around $780, including taxes and charges in regular economy. A so-called premium upgrade adds about $300; it gives extra legroom and some cabin amenities, but seats are as narrow as those in regular economy.

Several startup lines are planning transpacific flights from the United States to Asia and Australia. The closest to reality is Oasis, a Hong Kong-based startup line, which already flies to Hong Kong from London. It starts service from Vancouver this month, and plans flights from Chicago and Oakland in the near future. Other proposed transpacific lines are still in the planning stage.

European holiday lines

Five “holiday” airlines, based in Europe, have been providing seasonal low-fare transatlantic flights for many years. Most of them started out as charter lines serving mainly package holiday markets. Although most now operate as scheduled lines, like charters, they fly less than daily on most routes—only once or twice a week, on some—and service on many routes is still seasonal. And although some of them formerly focused on providing cheap transatlantic flights for U.S. travelers, most of them now cater primarily to Europeans vacationing in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. That’s why the U.S. destinations are limited mainly to Florida points and Las Vegas.

LTU is probably the most useful for Americans; it flies to Germany from Fort Myers, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Los Angeles and New York flights are seasonal; Florida flights operate all year.

The others fly mainly from Miami, Orlando and Orlando (Sanford): Condor to Germany, Martinair to Amsterdam, FlyThomasCook.com to several cities in the U.K., and Thomsonfly to several cities in the U.K.

Other possibilities

Travelers within driving distance of a major Canadian city have quite a few more low-fare options, and a few new lines specialize in premium flights. More on those next week.

Keep in mind that self-styled low-fare airlines don’t always undersell their legacy competitors: Always compare providers, especially if you need a connecting flight within the United States to reach an international gateway.