Best major airline: America West Airlines

Entrepreneur, April, 2004

If you're paying less than $300 for a roundtrip, coast-to-coast ticket this year, you can thank America West. Based in Tempe, Arizona, the carrier--which took this category last year--continues its remarkable turnaround this year as one of the few profitable, growing major airlines.

America West seems to be one of the few major carriers that "gets it" when it comes to offering value to travelers. Two years ago, when the airline was on the brink of insolvency, it dumped its worn-out major-airline fare structure and replaced it with simplified, flexible fares that offer customers reasonable prices on tickets bought on short notice, with no aggravating Saturday night stay.

Business travelers in its Los Vegas and Phoenix hubs are among the lucky beneficiaries of America West's resurgence. And now that the airline is offering transcontinental nonstops from New York to Los Angeles and New York to San Francisco, as well as Boston to Los Angeles and Boston to San Francisco, budget-conscious travelers on both coasts benefit with lower fares and fewer restrictions. Fares in these nonstop transcontinental markets were as high as $1,219 each way before America West entered the market and lowered the one-way, walk-up business fares to as low as $299.

Its FlightFund frequent-flier program offers elite benefits that include unlimited, space-available upgrades; mileage bonuses; preferred seating; priority check-in; and early boarding. It also offers a 5 percent discount on all tickets to small businesses that are enrolled in its Corporate AWArds program.

America West is the eighth largest carrier in the country, and flies to 93 cities in the United States, Canada, Costa Pica and Mexico.

Visit www.americawest.com, or call (800) 2-FLY-AWA.

CHRIS McGINNIS is Entrepreneur's "Biz Travel" columnist