The Skyscanner programme has allowed travel agents to incorporate low-cost airlines into their dynamic packaging bookings.
But with so many budget carriers on the scene, it can be tough keeping up with who flies where and who offers what.
We take a look at some of the big low-cost airlines to help guide you through the low-fares maze.
Aer Lingus
UK airports: Heathrow, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Jersey, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle
Flights to: Dublin, Cork, Shannon; 50 other destinations around Europe from Ireland, plus a long-haul network including Dubai, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Washington, Orlando and San Francisco are coming on board later this year.
Extras: Seatback TVs on long-haul flights. Drinks and hot and cold meals for sale on board.
Commission/booking fee: 1% commission. Booking fee of £13.50 per person for using the call centre. Aerlingus.com.
Air Berlin
UK airports: Stansted, Manchester, Belfast, Glasgow, Bournemouth
Flights to: Wide selection of European destinations including Gothenburg, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Zurich, Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Malaga, Palma, Ibiza and Paderborn.
Extras: Complimentary standard snack and drink on all services. Additional menu on flights of more than 90 minutes. In-flight entertainment on longer flights.
Commission/booking fee: 1% commission. Booking fee of £3.35 per person for using the call centre. Airberlin.com.
Atlas-Blue
UK airports: Gatwick
Flights to: Marrakesh. Atlas-blue also flies into Morocco from several other European cities including Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse and Barcelona.
Extras: Complimentary in-flight meal. Duty-free goods available.
Commission/booking fee: No commission. Booking fee of £3 for online sales, £7 for call centre reservations. Atlas-blue.com.
BMIbaby
UK airports: Birmingham, East Midlands, Manchester, Cardiff, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey
Flights to: Cork, Knock, Amsterdam, Prague, Rome, Geneva, Nice, Marseille, Bordeaux, Palma, Barcelona, Alicante, Murcia, Malaga, Lisbon and Faro.
Extras: Food and drink available to buy. No in-flight entertainment. Baggage allowance (20kg) costs £3 pre-booked or £6 at check-in. Hand luggage weight is unrestricted.
Commission/booking fee: No commission. Booking fee of £5 for telephone reservations. Bmibaby.com.
Clickair
UK airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh
Flights to: La Coruna, Valencia, Seville, Barcelona. Flights into Spain from various European countries including Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Extras: Food and drink available to buy. No in-flight entertainment. 20kg free baggage limit.
Commission/booking fee: No commission. Booking fee of £5 for reservations made over the phone. Clickair.com.
Easyjet
UK airports: Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Aberdeen, Belfast, Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Liverpool, Newcastle
Flights to: Austria, the Baltic States, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey.
Extras: Food and drink available to buy. No in-flight entertainment. 20kg free baggage allowance.
Commission/booking fee: No commission. £10 discount per person per sector for booking online (i.e. booking a return flight by phone incurs a £20 charge). EasyJet.com.
Flybe
UK airports: 23 airports in the UK and Channel Islands, including Gatwick, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester, Guernsey, Newquay, Norwich and Southend
Flights to: 56 destinations in 12 European countries. Western European destinations include Amsterdam, Brussels, Edinburgh, Milan, Paris, Toulouse, Alicante, Dubrovnik, Faro, Malaga, Murcia and Palma.
Extras: Food and drink available to buy. No in-flight entertainment. Hold luggage of up to 23kg (30kg in Economy Plus) costs £4 if pre-booked, £7 at the airport.
Commission/booking fee: Flights offered through travel agents are subject to an additional distribution cost of between £5 and £7 per person per sector. Flybe.com.
Flythomascook
UK airports: operates from 21 UK airports
Flights to: More than 80 overseas destinations. Europe destinations include Malta, Madeira, Sicily and a large number of Spanish and Greek locations. Worldwide destinations include Cancun, Dominican Republic, Florida and seven Canadian destinations. Good services to ski resorts over the winter months.
Extras: Three-course meals from £6 per adult, £4 per child fares to Canada include meals). In-flight entertainment is provided. Baggage allowance is 15kg.
Commission/booking fee: Agents can access net fares but do not receive commission. Flythomascook.com.
Iceland Express
UK airports: Stansted
Flights to: Reykjavik’s Keflavik airport. Flights into Iceland from 12 other European cities in the north and west of Europe.
Extras: Snacks and drinks available to buy. No in-flight entertainment. Up to 20kg of hold baggage.
Commission/booking fee: Net fares available to agents. The airline is looking at introducing commission. £20 each-way surcharge for telephone bookings. Icelandexpress.com.
Jet2.com
UK airports: Belfast, Blackpool, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, Manchester
Flights to: European destination include Alicante, Almeria, Amsterdam, Avignon, Barcelona, Bergen, Berlin, Budapest, Chambery, Cork, Cracow, Dusseldorf, Faro, Geneva, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Malaga, Minorca, Milan, Murcia, Nice, Palma, Paris, Pisa, Prague, Rome, Salzburg, Tenerife, Toulouse, Valencia and Venice.
Extras: Food and drink available to buy. Champagne and personal entertainment player can be pre-ordered. Up to 18kg of baggage free of charge.
Commission/booking fee: No commission. Jet2.com.
Ryanair
UK airports: Glasgow, Liverpool, East Midlands, Bristol, Luton, Stansted and 14 other domestic airports
Flights to: Almost 500 routes. Its destination list incorporates most of Europe, with good representation in Eastern Europe, Ireland, France and the Mediterranean coastline.
Extras: Drinks and snacks available to buy. No in-flight entertainment. 15kg allowance for hold baggage (£5 each way if pre-paid, £10 each way if not).
Commission/booking fee: No commission. Surcharge of £14 per person for call centre bookings. Ryanair.com.
Thomsonfly
UK airports: 20 bases in the UK
Flights to: More than 80 destinations in Europe including Greece, Turkey, Italy and Spain and its islands, as well as Prague, Amsterdam, Paris and Venice. Mid and long-haul destinations include Egypt, Jamaica, Florida and the Dominican Republic.
Extras: Pre-bookable meals on most routes (from £6 each way). In-flight entertainment available on long-haul services. Baggage of up to 20kg can be checked for between £3 and £10 depending on the route (discount for pre-booking).
Commission/booking fee: No commission. £5 per flight surcharge for call centre bookings. Thomsonfly.com.
TUIfly
UK airports: Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham
Flights to: Hanover, Cologne-Bonn. Also flies in and out of Germany from a range of other European countries, including Italy, Spain and Greece.
Extras: Drinks and snacks available to buy. Duty-free on flights to Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt. In-flight entertainment provided on longer flights. 20kg limit for free checked-in baggage.
Commission/booking fee: €7.50 per passenger per flight. £5 surcharge per person per flight for call centre bookings.
Website:TUIfly.com
Wizz Air
UK airports: Luton, Belfast, Glasgow Prestwick, Durham Tees Valley, Doncaster Sheffield, Liverpool, Stansted, Coventry, Bournemouth
Flights to: Gdansk, Katowice, Poznan, Warsaw; Belfast to Katowice and Warsaw. Also flies from Luton to Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Romania, and from Liverpool to Bucharest.
Extras: Drinks and snacks available to buy. No in-flight entertainment. 20kg limit for checked-in baggage.
Commission/booking fee: No commission. Net fares available to agents. £5 charge per passenger per flight for telephone bookings. Wizzair.com.
Zoom airlines
UK airports: Gatwick, Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester, Cardiff
Flights to: Bermuda, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, New York, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. Also flies from Paris.
Extras: Complimentary hot meal on all flights. Alcohol available to buy (complimentary in premium economy). Headphones available to buy for in-flight entertainment. 20kg baggage limit (30kg for premium economy). Separate check-in area, extra space and amenity pack for premium economy passengers.
Commission/booking fee: No commission. No extra charges for telephone bookings. Flyzoom.com
