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Many travelers assume that the discount airlines are always the cheapest. In the United States, that means flocking to the websites of Southwest and JetBlue, and simply buying the ticket without comparing the options. This is foolish.

In fact, this is precisely what these airlines want you to do: Their reputations as low-fare carriers are cemented in the public eye, so they don’t make their fares searchable by the big travel agencies. (There is a workaround for JetBlue fares, which I reported here.) The masses, assuming the discount airlines are the cheapest, simply buy on faith.

That faith is rarely questioned in the media. Thankfully, WSJ writer Avery Johnson makes an exception, and exposes lower fares on the traditional carriers:

Discount carriers including JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines and AirTran Holdings Inc., citing rising fuel costs and the introduction of more high-end perks, have been steadily boosting prices in recent months. Traditional airlines, meanwhile, have been increasingly moving into the low-cost carriers’ routes and copying their simplified fare structures.

The result on a growing number of routes is that the low-cost carriers’ fares are no longer always the cheapest. One example is the fares between Northeastern cities and Florida, a big focus of the low-cost carriers’ expansion. Spirit Airlines’ cheapest round-trip fare (before taxes and fees) between New York’s La Guardia Airport and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., now tops US Airways’ - a $148 sale fare compared with $138. The same pattern is playing out with Southwest and AMR Corp’s American Airlines on flights between the Washington, D.C., area and Chicago, where American has a fare of $197 (including taxes) compared to $232 for Southwest (that’s for round-trip travel between May 12 and May 17).

The lesson is simple. It’s always wise to compare the traditional airlines to the discount airlines before making the purchase.

With rising fares, but also with changes to their networks, the discounters are looking more and more like traditional airlines. JetBlue even recently announced plans to partner (codeshare?) with international airlines. Southwest plans to fly internationally (well, to Mexico, potentially in partnership with ATA) by 2009.

Admittedly, the legacy carriers would unlikely have lowered their fares if not for the discounters. But they still fly to more places and have broader reward redemption options. You can’t cash in your Southwest or JetBlue points to fly to see the Great Barrier Reef. So I adore the low cost carriers for bringing the fares down on the legacy carriers, allowing me to earn more miles I actually care about. (Last year, now-defunct Independence Air’s fire-sale fares from/to Washington, DC made the fares on United, American, and US Airways much more attractive. The bonuses and promotions that United offered were amazing. Four trips to DC and, with the bonuses, I had enough miles for a free economy ticket to Europe.)

Remember, when an airline says it’s a “low cost carrier,” they’re referring to THEIR costs, not yours. A low cost carrier does not necessarily mean a low fare carrier. Shop around.

tags: travel | air travel | low cost carriers