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For the last year, the big story on international travel was the all-business class airlines — Maxjet, Eos Airlines, Silverjet, L’Avion, and the (defunct?) MiMa. But the other end of the travel spectrum — the no-frills economy class travel segment — saw two major steps forward this week.

Zoom, the Canadian-British discounter, has jumped its earlier hurdles and received approval to fly from London-Gatwick to New York-JFK. Flights are scheduled to start June 21, 2007.

Zoom’s service onboard is generally well-liked, though you need to be careful and read the fine print if you want to avoid add-on fees. Baggage policy in particular is a potential snag: You can only check 44 pounds total (not per suitcase) without incurring a surcharge. Other airlines offer 50 pounds each for two bags. Better pack light.

Separately, European uber-discounter Ryanair is reportedly getting into the trans-Atlantic game, using the same pricing model that they’re famous for: Crazy-low fares, with add-ons for everything else, from checked bags, to beverages, to mandatory surcharges for wheelchair service for all passengers.

The new airline technically won’t be part of the European operations of Ryanair, but will stand alone. A fleet of up to 50 Airbus A350s or Boeing 787s, neither of which are actually being built yet, would ferry passengers over the ocean for as little as $12 plus fees and add-ons.

Unlike Zoom, which will fly to JFK, one of the busiest international airports in the world, the new Ryanair subsidiary would fly to smaller ports like Baltimore, Providence, and Islip, NY.

It’ll be interesting to see how other airlines will respond — either by attempting to lobby Congress to somehow regulate the competition out of existence, or by actually treating the newcomers as real competition. With Zoom and Ryanair coming to North American shores, and with Spirit leading the way in homegrown nickel-and-diming, I’m not holding out much hope for real improvement in service.

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