Small Private Airlines

As an author of airline trips, I thought that flyin' sixty leagues for a houndog in a two-seat airplane wouldn't be a big deal. Between the Big Boy's and fly in a Cessna with your father is a small airline business that you may never have known about. A few are taller than you might think.

I am not speaking of charter flights - most of them are genuine regular airlines that are monitored by the FAA with high security levels. I am not referring to code-shared airlines such as Trans States and Piedmont, which all operate their flights under the name of a major carrier. You' ve probably already seen JetBlue, Spirit, Southwest and AirTran, the well-known discount stores.

Allgiant Air (tel. 800/432-3810; ) is the largest cargo air carrier you've never even seen in the USA. Allegiant services places such as Lansing, Wichita, Fargo, Missoula and Fresno, medium-sized towns where the major airlines have not provided non-stop connections to their two holiday centres. All MD-80 aircraft fly allegiantly, an older but still dependable aircraft, and they feature 32 inch free leg-room hidechairs.

Allgiant is a survivalist in a field in which several airlines have failed in recent years; they have taken up operations due to the recent failure of Southeast Airlines and Transmeridian Airlines. And so we asked the squeezers about the private company's financials. Some of their expense saving results from not doing business with tour operators; you will not find Allergiant rates on Expedia or Travelocity.

Together with Allegiant, USA 3000 (tel. 877/872-3000; ) help Northeast and Midwest people to reach solar targets at a discounted rate; they travel from 15 towns, among them New York, Chicago and St. Louis, to Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. You' re flying new Airbus 320 aircraft with live entertainment, films and warm food on the plane.

Unlike Allegiant and USA 3000, Hooters is more likely to fly private flights than regular flights, which means they work under a different FAA rulebook. When Hooters gives up your deal, have the name on your tickets changed for $25 (prohibited on most airlines ) and get a full refund if your trip is canceled.

And if you plan to go to Canada, you should probably know something about the discount stores of our neighbors to the north: They all link US and Canada at lower fares than the big airlines (but only sometimes) and may not appear on the website of your preferred tour operator. Take a hike in the minute breeze!

Allgiant Air looks like one of the big boys at New England Airlines (Tel. 800/243-2460; http://users.ids. net/flybi/nea). From Westerly to Block Island, RI flies only between Westerly and Block Island with ten-seater aircraft and is the only carrier at both aerodromes, and is one of many small regular airlines that cover the needs in the USA.

For 35 years, Bill Bendokas, a Block Islander, has headed NAE. He took over when the former islands carrier collapsed in 1970. You will also see many tourist in the summers, who have nothing against the 84 dollar round-trip price to shorten the journey to 12min. However, there are some special features when it comes to smaller aircraft. However, there are some special features when it comes to smaller aircraft. However, there are some special rules for smaller airlines such as Air Idaho's Salmon Air (tel. 800/448-3413; www.salmonair.com).

The small aircraft can only support a certain amount of air traffic, so it is important that air travelers and baggage are in balance - and if a person overweights, someone else has to take the next one. "The New England Isles are an excellent base for small airlines such as NEA and Cape Air (tel. 800/352-0714; www.capeair.com), which serve Massachusetts holiday destinations such as Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod.

Last year they flown 130,000 passengers with their 25 airplanes, mostly 8-10 passengers. However, the little boys were facing the same pecuniary challenge as the big airlines. KENMOR works to keep their cost low and fill aircraft by providing last-minute web tariff offers (www.kenmoreaims.net/scripts/mgrqispi. dll), he says.

And Kenmore isn't the only small carrier in their class. Occasionally, when a larger carrier breaks down, it becomes a small one. Your chart is brief, but they still fly large (albeit old) Boeing 727s and they still show up at the big agencies. At the moment, they keep their faithful Bedford-Trenton Commuters fortunate and do a great deal of charters while they hold back until the aviation sector stabilises.

"We' re not quite sure where major airlines are going at the moment, so we' re going to stay under the radar," says Stacy Beck, head of the wards. Join us today to tell us what you think about our Air Travel Message Boards.