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Low Cost Airlines around the World

Last Update: December 19th, 2005

At the end of October 2005, Virgin's Polynesian Blue began flying from Australian cities to Apia on the south Pacific island of Samoa. In mid-November, the United Arab Emirates low cost airline Air Arabia commenced flights to Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan in Central Asia.

There is now no part of the globe which does not play host to low cost airlines. attitude Travel has a comprehensive selection of low cost airline guides to give you full details of which budget airlines fly where - by region and by country - who flies cheaper and where you can find the cheapest special offers.

Low cost airlines in Europe

Europe's skies are filled with squadrons of no-frills airlines and new carriers continue to take off across Europe from one month to the next.

Despite a number of high profile failures such as EU Jet. Fairline. duo and Flying Finn. optimism is high that the crowded skies still have space for more budget start-ups.

In autumn 2005, a new Italian low cost airline, Blu Roma Express has just launched, Iceland Express says it will expand across Europe in 2006 and Ryanair has announced it has ambitious plans to replace airfares with in-flight gambling.

Meanwhile, in the UK, two teenage entrepreneurs, Daniel Reilly and Martin Halstead, are about to unleash their own budget airlines: Nexus Airways based out of Liverpool and alpha one based out of Southampton. [ Read more. ]

Low cost airlines in Asia

In 2005, low cost airline networks have continued to spread across South East Asia.

The first Korean budget carrier Hansung Airlines launched in late August and Japan's first real low cost airline, StarFlyer is getting ready to launch in January 2006.

But the majority of the focus in 2005 has been on India where, no fewer than four new budget airlines have commenced operations since March and another low fare airline is expected to launch in November.

From the Middle East, the UAE no-frills airline Air Arabia is now flying to Mumbai and Nagpur on the Indian subcontinent, while in Southeast Asia, Singapore's Tiger Airways is now flying to Kolkata from the Lion City. [ Read more. ]

Low cost airlines in Australasia the Pacific

Across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa and the Hawaiian Islands there are now ten low cost and low fare airlines.

And enthusiasm for the low cost airline model is growing in the Pacific region.

Even now the US airline Mesa Air is looking to start up another inter-island low cost subsidiary in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, Virgin's triumvirate of no-frills carriers - Virgin Blue in Australia, Pacific Blue in New Zealand and Polynesian Blue - continue to compete against the Qantas no-frills venture JetStar and other rivals like Freedom Air. [ Read more. ]

Transatlantic low cost airlines

In the last two years there has been a lot of excited talk about the prospect of transatlantic low cost airlines.

But apart from the successful launch of Zoom which flies from Canada to the UK and France there has been little movement.

But now the Scottish low cost airline, fly globespan has raised the stakes with the announcement at the start of November that it will operate daily low fare flights from Glasgow to Orlando from Spring 2006. [ Read more. ]

Low cost airlines in the Middle East

There are, at present, two low cost airlines based in the Middle East, and another three no-frills airlines which fly from North Africa and the Middle East to Europe.

There is also a single all-economy class airline which links the Middle East to South Asia and East Africa.

And now that the UAE budget airline Air Arabia has proved its popularity and Kuwait's Jazeera has launched, there is talk that there will soon be more low cost airlines based out of Kuwait and in Saudi Arabia. [ Read more. ]

Low cost airlines in Latin America

Since 2002, Brazil's GOL Linhas A reas Inteligentes has been the undisputed low cost leader in Latin America.

However a new generation of Mexican low cost airlines has now emerged in Central America and elsewhere, in South America, other airlines such as Wayra Peru are expected to launch soon.

At the end of 2005, GOL is now operating budget flights to Argentina, Bolivia and to Panama City and is the regional equivalent of Air Asia in South East Asia, Ryanair in Europe and Southwest in the USA. [ Read more. ]

Low cost airlines in the UK Ireland

attitude Travel already publishes a guide to European low cost airlines which includes coverage of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

However. the skies over the British Isles are so thick with low cost airline vapour trails we decided to put together a UK and Ireland section to cut out some of the noise.

The British Isles low cost airlines section focuses just on the inter-island connections between Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, Orkney, Shetland, the Hebrides, six regions of England and the Irish Republic. [ Read more. ]

Low cost airlines in the Caribbean

Several US low cost carriers including USA 3000 and Spirit Airlines already fly from the Northeastern States and Florida to destinations in the Caribbean.

But now LIAT Airlines. based in the Eastern Caribbean, has also restructured its fares to correspond to a budget airline model.

attitude Travel will continue to monitor budget airline developments across the west Atlantic archipelago as they progress. [ Read more. ]

Low cost airlines in Africa

Both Kulula and 1time have operated successful low cost airline networks in South Africa over the last two years.

Now there is talk of South African Airways starting its own budget carrier to go into competition against its two low cost domestic rivals.

At the other end of Africa, north of the Sahara, the Moroccan no-frills airline Atlas Blue - the discount subsidiary of Royal Air Maroc - has also found its niche, operating cheap flights from Agadir and Marrakech to cities across western Europe. [ Read more. ]