Vayama Travel Blog

I love B carriers, because they try harder and make Summer travel easy.

By Florin R.Ferrs

(International Airfares Specialist)

What is a B carrier? A B Carrier is an airline that is not as well-known as the so called ‘legacy carriers’. Some B carriers started their life as inter-European charter companies and have now branched into the USA, offering cheap transatlantic flights to Europe for summer travel. Another type of B carrier is an Asian carrier like China Airlines or Asiana. These are airlines that offer excellent service and in Asiana’s case, they are even part of the Star Alliance. But for some reason or another (mainly marketing), they have focused on their particular ethnic communities and are not as well known to the general public as the more internationalized Asian Carriers like Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific. The beauty of Asian B carriers is not only their great service on board, but that their airports in Asia are firmly planted in the 21rst century, something that can’t be said about LAX, JFK, Charles de Gaulle or Heathrow. A transfer in any of these aforementioned airports feels like a rerun of the Jetsons because they have not aged very well.  They seem to be forever stuck in a 1960’s retro jet age design that has absolutely no retro appeal. Add to that heavy congestion, long security lines and eternal construction and you will start to understand why the B on B carriers often stands for ‘Best’, particularly when it refers to modern and uncongested secondary airports in Europe (like Dusseldorf) , or the ultra-sleek airports of Asia.

The Best B Carriers for Summer Travel


Here are my top pick of B carriers this summer:

Air Berlin

I believe that Air Berlin is ready to give Lufthansa and other legacy carrier a run for their money. They offer great flights to Europe, excellent service on board and convenient connections in an uncongested and modern airport. Air Berlin will be flying nonstop from San Francisco to Dusseldorf this summer. This new route gives Air Berlin its sixth nonstop service from North America to Germany (supplementing existing services to Dusseldorf from New York, Los Angeles, Fort Myers, Miami and Vancouver). Passengers on Air Berlin will take advantage of smooth connections in Düsseldorf to Europe’s premier cities such as Zurich, Vienna and London, plus six inter-German flights including Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart. I’ve booked my flight from New York to Zurich on Air Berlin from $580 total.

Ich bin ein Berliner

XL Airways France

XL airlines have been offering flights to Paris from the Mediterranean and Europe, but it’s their long haul flights that make them special. They have just added a nonstop flight to Paris from Las Vegas, in addition to their New York to Paris flight. I have booked my summer flight to Paris with them, nonstop fromVegas to Charles de Gaulle in Mid may from $763. Not too bad for a hop over the pond in summer.

XL Airways France: Leapfrog over the Atalantic

China Airlines

If there was ever an airline that tries harder, it definitively has to be China Airlines. Not only do they offer the best airfares across the Pacific, their on board service is impeccable; putting may American and European airlines to shame. Their hub in Taipei is sleek and modern and your transfer there is supervised by smiling airport staff that direct you to the next boarding gate in Wi-Fi, air conditioned bliss. From Taipei, China Airlines covers every corner of Asia, with nonstop flights to India, mainland China, southeast Asia, Korea and even nonstop flights from Taipei to Okinawa (avoiding Tokyo altogether). I love to fly on China Airlines, and you will too. Check out this airfare deal from San Francisco to Bangkok from $950 total.

China Airlines is the Gateway to Asia

Honorary Mentions:

Martinair (New York and Florida to Amsterdam and beyond), Spanair (New York to Madrid and beyond to European destinations). Meridiana from New York to Naples or Palermo and beyond. AirTransat, connecting Canadian hubs (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, etc) with European and Caribbean destinations, including London, Paris, Edinburgh, Dublin and more.

Get ready to B impressed. Fly a B carrier for your summer travel and B pampered while you save on airfare.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 18th, 2011 at 12:33 am and is filed under Asia, Europe, Travel Tips & Airfare Secrets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.