United States

The principal area of competition tends to be the full-coach or "walk-up" fare. Advance purchase fares tend to be competitive with major carriers but not significantly lower.

Traditional perceptions of the "low-cost carrier" as a stripped-down, no-frills airline, as seen on Southwest Airlines, have been changing as new entrants to the market adapt the business model in new ways. AirTran Airways, US Airways and Spirit Airlines offer a premium cabin (as did America West Airlines), while Frontier and jetBlue offer live in-flight television, sometimes for an extra fee. AirTran has XM Satellite Radio available at every seat. Frontier, JetBlue, US Airways and AirTran all use assigned seating. Some airlines even have services not available on some legacy carriers, such as mood lighting, found in Virgin America.