‘Low-fare’ airlines often not cheapest

JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America are the indie bands of the air travel world.

Fresh, resourceful and a bit cheeky, these three airlines -- billed as low-fare alternatives -- buck against convention in the industry. That’s especially welcome at a time when flying is often a delay-ridden, jampacked and amenity-stripped chore.

But do these indie airlines have the best prices?

Not always.

In a survey of flights for the upcoming Easter weekend to three destinations -- all of which are served by at least one of these alternative airlines -- mainstream carriers often beat them on ticket prices.

The prices were for outgoing flights from local airports any time Thursday, March 20, and returning any time Monday, March 24.

Searches were made on Expedia.com -- the easiest travel website to use for multiple searches of numerous airlines -- and also on Southwest’s and Virgin America’s own online homes because their flights don’t show up on Expedia.

All the searches were done March 3, looking for the lowest round-trip fare.

That figure is something of a moving target. Because of computer-driven pricing based on supply and demand, a fare quoted at one point could be a few dollars higher or lower a few minutes later.

Even when the alternatives didn’t have the lowest fare, you should be grateful that they’re around. There’s nothing like competition to push prices down.

All round-trip prices listed include taxes and fees.

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New York (JFK airport)

The winner for a nonstop to the Big Apple from Los Angeles International Airport was Delta. That airline had several round trips available for $349.

The best nonstop route from an alternative airline was JetBlue from Long Beach Airport for $367.

The best Virgin America had to offer was about $383 from LAX.

It used to be that you mostly had to take the brutal, all-night red-eye flights to get the best fares, but not anymore. All of the above prices were for flights beginning, at least, in daylight.

Southwest’s only destination airport in the New York area is Islip MacArthur Airport in Long Island. You can get there for about $400, with stops, from either Bob Hope Airport in Burbank or Ontario Airport.

The ultimate cheapie round-trip fare was $279 on Northwest Airlines from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, but it included connections in Minneapolis and Detroit -- two cities that are infamous for bad-weather delays. Even if on schedule, the trip from Los Angeles to New York would take more than 13 hours, compared with about five hours for a nonstop flight.

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Seattle

The lowest-priced nonstop winner was United Airlines, which had several flights originating from LAX for a round-trip fare of $206.

The fare on Southwest from the Burbank airport was close -- $209 -- but it included a stop or connecting flight each way.

Other notable nonstops included several on Alaska Airlines for $212 from LAX, $218 from Burbank or Ontario and $250 from Santa Ana.

But if you can wait a few weeks, you’ll probably get better prices. The alternative airlines are about to invade this route.

In April, Virgin America plans to inaugurate nonstop flights from LAX to Seattle. The airline has said the round-trip fare will be about $160.

JetBlue also will jump in the game, offering flights from Long Beach to Seattle scheduled to begin in May. The announced starting round-trip fare will be about $180.

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Las Vegas

Southwest beats all, price-wise, when it comes to low-cost flights to Vegas. For example, the best fare it has available for one-way flights from the L.A. area is $52.

That fare wasn’t available for the test dates, but a round-trip starting from Burbank could be gotten for about $132. From LAX and Ontario, it was $138.

The price jumped up from Orange County to $222, leaving Southwest far from the winner from that airport for Easter weekend. That accolade went to US Airways, with a round-trip fare of $150.

The low fares put the cost at not much more than driving, given the price of gasoline and wear and tear on your auto. For many, such prices will make it possible to celebrate a holiday that is all about hope and renewal in a city that could use a hefty dose of both.

Happy flying.

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david.colker@latimes.com