The details of low-cost airlines Air Tran Years in service: 10 Cities served: 43 as of June 14 Major airports: Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Orlando, Tampa Booking methods: 800-247-8726 ; airtran.com; major Internet booking sites; travel agents Number, type of aircraft: 68 (Boeing 717s and DC-9s) Average age of aircraft: 5 years Classes of service: Coach and business Seats in each: 106-117, depending on aircraft *Seat pitch: 30 inches in coach; 40 inches in business Entertainment options: None In-flight dining options: Light snacks Frequent flier program: A-Plus Rewards; 16 coach one-way trips earns free round trip Change fee: $50 Excess bagage fee: $35 per bag in excess of 3 Crash history: Crash in May 1996 operating as ValuJet ATA Years in service: 17 (30 years as a charter travel club) Cities served: 46 as of June 1 Major airports: Chicago-Midway, Indianapolis, St. Petersburg, Fla., San Francisco, Los Angeles Booking methods: 800-435-9282; ata.com; major Internet booking sites; travel agents Number, type of aircraft: 55 (Boeing 737s and 757s) Average age of aircraft: 2.2 years Classes of service: Coach Seats in each: 175-247, depending on aircraft Seat pitch: 30 to 33 inches Entertainment options: Short subjects; movies on flights of 5 hours + In-flight dining options: Light snacks; meals on flights to Hawaii Frequent flier program: None Change fee: $50 Excess bagage fee: $50 per bag in excess of 3 Crash history: None Frontier Years in service: 9 Cities served: 39 Major airports: Denver Booking methods: 800-432-1359; frontierairlines.com; major Internet booking sites; travel agents Number, type of aircraft: 36 (Airbus 319s and Boeing 737s) Average age of aircraft: 7.8 years Classes of service: Coach Seats in each: 119-130, depending on aircraft Seat pitch: 31 to 33 inches Entertainment options: Satellite TV on 17 Airbus craft for $5 a segment In-flight dining options: Sandwich wraps, bagels on flights of 1 1/2 hours + Frequent flier program: EarlyReturns; 15,000 miles earns free domestic round trip Change fee: $100 Excess bagage fee: $50 per bag Crash history: None Jet Blue Years in service: 3 Cities served: 22 by June Major airports: New York's JFK and Long Beach, Calif. Booking methods: 800-538-2583; jetblue.com Number, type of aircraft: 41 Airbus 320s Average age of aircraft: 16 months Classes of service: Coach Seats in each: 162 Seat pitch: 32 inches Entertainment options: 24 channels of seatback satellite TV In-flight dining options: Light snacks Frequent flier program: TrueBlue; 100 points (or about 4 coast-to-coast round trips booked online) earn free round trip Change fee: $25 Excess bagage fee: $50 per bag in excess of 3 Crash history: none Song Years in service: Debuted 4/15 Cities served: 14 in December Major airports: New York, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando Booking methods: 800-359-7664; flysong.com; major Internet booking sites; travel agents Number, type of aircraft: 1 Boeing 757 (35 to be phased in through November) Average age of aircraft: 5 1/2 years Classes of service: Coach Seats in each: 199 Seat pitch: 33 inches Entertainment options: Seatback satellite TV; MP3 digital audio; video games; pay-per-view movies. Available in October. In-flight dining options: Name-brand snacks and sandwiches $3-$8 Frequent flier program: Delta's SkyMiles; 25,000 miles for free domestic round trip Change fee: $25 Excess bagage fee: $40 for 1st additional item over 2; $80 each for 2nd and 3rd excess items Crash history: none Southwest Years in service: 32 Cities served: 58 Major airports: Phoenix, Las Vegas, Baltimore/Washington, Houston Hobby, Chicago Midway and others Booking methods: 800-435-9792; southwest.com; travel agents Number, type of aircraft: 377 Boeing 737s Average age of aircraft: 9 years Classes of service: Coach Seats in each: 122-137, depending on aircraft Seat pitch: 32-33 inches Entertainment options: None In-flight dining options: Light snacks Frequent flier program: Rapid Rewards; 8 round trips within 12 months earns free ticket; if booked online, 4 round trips earns a ticket Change fee: none Excess bagage fee: $40 per bag for 4th and 5th bags Crash history: none Spirit Years in service: 12 (plus 10 years as a charter) Cities served: 14 Major airports: Fort Lauderdale and Detroit Booking methods: 800-772-7117; spiritair.com; major Internet booking sites; travel agents Number, type of aircraft: 26 MD-80s Average age of aircraft: 15 years Classes of service: Coach and Spirit Plus (enhanced coach) Seats in each: 156 Seat pitch: 30 inches in coach; 36 inches in premium cabin Entertainment options: None In-flight dining options: Light snacks Frequent flier program: None Change fee: $75 Excess bagage fee: $50 per bag in excess of 2 Crash history: none *Pitch refers to the distance from the back of one seat to the back of the next. Source: USA TODAY research *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.pscutt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************