Bargain-fare airlines ply the nation’s skies

One of the biggest surprises in the travel industry is the success of cut-rate airlines.

The phenomenon, which accounts for nearly a quarter of all domestic air travel, includes such names as Southwest, JetBlue, Spirit, AirTran, ATA and others.

American consumers are enjoying some of the lowest fares in travel history. Here’s the scoop on some of the upstart airlines.

* AirTran Airways, (800) 247-8726, www.airtran.com. From a hub in Atlanta, AirTran serves 45 destinations with 84 planes, most heavily in the South, Midwest and Northeast, including such secondary cities as Akron/Canton, Ohio, and Rochester, N.Y. The airline is adding 100 Boeing 737s. A Dallas-Los Angeles nonstop made its debut July 1.

* America West Airlines, (800) 327-7810, www.americawest.com. America West is one of the few U.S. airlines to post a profit in the last quarter. It has hubs in Phoenix and Las Vegas, from where the airline and America West Express fly to 93 airports throughout the U.S. and several cities in Canada and Mexico. (It offers flights to Hawaii in partnership with Hawaiian Airlines.) In June, new nonstops were inaugurated from Los Angeles to Washington/Dulles; to Vancouver, Canada; and Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan, Mexico.

* ATA Airlines, (800) 435-9282, www.ata.com. The country’s 10th-largest airline became a scheduled carrier in 1986; hubs are Chicago-Midway; Indianapolis; St. Petersburg, Fla.; San Francisco; and Los Angeles, from which it and ATA Connection operate to 36 destinations within the United States and eight in Mexico and the Caribbean.

* Independence Air, (800) 359-3594, www.flyi.com. The newest guy on the runway, created from a United-affiliate regional carrier called Atlantic Coast Airlines, is the first discount airline to make Washington/Dulles a hub. It launched in June 2003 with a simplified fare structure and 10 destinations, growing to 35 Southern, Midwestern and Northeastern cities by the end of the summer, with plans to add service to the West Coast in the fall.

* JetBlue, (800) 538-2583, www.jetblue.com. It serves the Southern California market from Long Beach and Ontario and has expanded its network even more in the last couple of months, including San Jose, New York, western Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

* Song, (800) 359-7664, www.flysong.com. Delta’s low-fare carrier launched in 2003 and still offers a relatively limited menu, although it does serve Los Angeles and Las Vegas as well as New York; Newark, N.J.; Hartford, Conn.; Boston; Atlanta; the Florida cities of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

* Southwest Airlines, (800) 435-9792, www.southwest.com. The 33-year-old industry leader just created a hub in Philadelphia, flying to Las Vegas, the Midwest and the Southeast, for a total of 59 cities in 31 states.

* Spirit Airlines, (800) 772-7117, www.spiritair.com. This South Florida-based carrier was originally a charter airline, founded in 1980. It serves 16 cities, including Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Denver; San Juan; and Cancun, Mexico. It just contracted to add 90 Airbuses and will be announcing route expansions soon. Advantages include no advance-purchase requirements or such restrictions as Saturday-night stays.

* Ted, (800) 225-5833, www.flyted.com. United’s discount brand tries for a quirky personality and has a route map covering airports in California (Los Angeles, Ontario and San Francisco), Nevada (Las Vegas, Reno) and Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Tampa), along with Denver, Chicago, New Orleans and Washington/Dulles.