Save With B-List Airlines – In Transit Blog – NYTimes.com
Save With B-List Airlines – In Transit Blog – NYTimes.com
When shopping for airfare, it’s easy to overlook smaller, unfamiliar carriers. But those so-called B airlines may offer the best deal.
Vayama.com, an international airfare site, says travelers can save by flying on B airlines this fall and winter compared to their better-known counterparts. For example, the cheapest nonstop flight from New York to Madrid in October was $524 on Air Europa in a recent search — $16 less than Continental and $184 cheaper than Delta. Icelandair, Martinair, and Air Berlin, are also good bets to Europe.
For South America, TAM Airlines offers the best value to Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo from Miami, with same-day connections to Buenos Aires, Lima and other destinations, according to Vayama.
And in Australia, Qantas and United Airlines, which have long dominated the U.S. market with nonstop flights, are facing fresh competition from V Australia, a new airline from Richard Branson’s Virgin Blue Group. New planes and whimsical touches like mood lighting, seat-to-seat chat and video-on-demand, make it an attractive alternative, especially with fares to Sydney from Los Angeles starting at $954.
