NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

After deregulation, a new breed of airlines was born.

At the no-frills end of the scale is PEOPLExpress, which went from a $9 million loss in 1981, their first year, to a $10.4 million profit in 1983. Based out of Newark, New Jersey, PEOPLExpress reaches for a Texas following with a lowest-fares (but-everything-else-is-extra) deal. PEOPLExpress doesn’t fly out of D/FW, but their low fares make a connecting flight to Houston’s Hobby Airport a live option.

From Hobby Airport, a traveler can fly to Newark for $99 one-way (Monday through Friday before 7 p.m.) or $79 one-way (Monday-Friday after 7 p.m. or Saturdays and Sundays). For an additional $10 or $20 you can connect to Boston, Washington D.C., Buffalo, New York or various destinations in Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Minnesota, depending on the time of day you travel. PEOPLExpress also offers flights from Newark to Los Angeles and San Francisco for $119 coach in the evening; to Los Angeles $149 coach in the day; and a flight from Newark to London for $159.

You pay extra for everything on PEOPLExpress-your baggage, your drinks and your food. The normal amenities found on other carriers will cost between $3 to $25 on PEOPLExpress, depending on number of bags and size of appetite.

Passengers can check up to five bags at $3 per bag. Carry-on baggage is not to exceed 45 total inches and checked baggage is not to exceed 100 pounds. For domestic flights (except Newark to Los Angeles), a passenger is allowed two carry-on pieces (briefcases and handbags not included); for flights to London and Los Angeles, each passenger is only allowed one.

To save a passenger the hassle of standing in line, tickets are purchased after boarding the plane. In addition to cash, PEOPLExpress accepts money orders, traveler’s checks, major credit cards and personal and company checks. All fares are paid for one-way only, even though you can reserve a return flight.

Meals and drinks are also pay-as-you-go. Soft drinks (a whole 12-ounce can), coffee and juices are 50 cents; beer (Michelob) is $1 and wine (imported French) and cocktails (brand-name) are $2. On short flights a snack-pack can be purchased for $2; it includes cheese, crackers, almonds, brownies and a few other items. The longer flights offer a cold meal of sandwiches or croissants or fried chicken, fruit and other assorted yummies, for $6.

For flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco or London, PEOPLExpress offers a first class option on their 747s. Wider leather seats are offered in Premium class.

Russell Marchetta, spokesman for PEOPLExpress, says that the “no frills” label for the airline is really a misnomer. “The biggest frill in an airline is the low price,” he says. Marchetta maintains that people are not bothered by paying for meals. “They realize that nothing is really free on any airline. If you offer them good quality and amenities at a fair price, they’re happy.”

D logged only two flights on PEOPLExpress, one long and one short. Houston to Newark was, well, interesting to say the least; our flyer alternated between chuckling over the money he saved and bemoaning the ascetic, boxcar atmosphere. “It was like crossing the ocean must have been in an immigrant ship,” he said. But the flight from Newark to Washington, D.C. was better -brief and absurdly cheap.

JET AMERICA, founded in 1981, made its mark in the airline business by offering service to alternative airports at selected designations, thus helping travelers avoid the hassle of giant, chaotic airports such as Los Angeles International. From D/FW you can travel on their MD-80 jets to St. Louis Lambert Field or Long Beach Municipal airport, Jet America’s main hub.

Jet America isn’t a budget airline per se, but it does offer low fares with first-class coach and also with full-service meals.

All of the fares of Jet America are one-way with few restrictions (such as staying over a Saturday night). Company officials pride themselves on a simple air-fare structure. The one-way fares from D/FW to St. Louis are $69 coach and $199 first-class; from D/FW to Long Beach, $99 coach and $371 first-class, if airline tickets are purchased seven days in advance. Jet America apparently suits the market very well: In August, they posted profits for the 16th consecutive month, almost unheard of in the airline industry. D did not fly on Jet America.