50% Off Flights and 3 Other Great Airfare Deals You Can Snag Right Now

Right now is a terrific time for cheap airfare. If you're not quite ready to pull the trigger on one of the phenomenally cheap flight deals to Europe available during peak summer season, perhaps the latest round of airfare sales—from Frontier Airlines, Southwest, JetBlue, and Virgin America—will entice you to book an inexpensive trip closer to home this spring.

Frontier Airlines is offering 50% off domestic flights booked by Wednesday, March 1, for trips from April 18 to May 24, when you enter the code SAVE50 during searches. Travel is valid any day of the week other than Friday or Sunday, and there are a few blackout dates.

The discount applies only to the fare, not taxes and fees— so the total discount doesn't work out to a true 50% off deal. But we were able to use the code to find solid savings: For example, a one-way flight from Denver to Charlotte that would have cost $79 was discounted to $51 after the promotional code was factored in.

Frontier also has select deals starting at just $24 each way for connections between certain cities in April and May. Availability is very limited at these prices, so you'll have to be flexible to take advantage of the best deals. Also note that the 50% promotion highlighted above does not apply to these already-super-cheap fares. Here are a few of the possibilities:

Atlanta to Orlando: $24
Philadelphia to Raleigh-Durham: $26
St. Louis to Denver: $29
Austin to Las Vegas: $31

This week's sale from JetBlue Airways is also full of tempting airfare deals. Flights from chilly Chicago to sunny Fort Lauderdale start at just $64, for example. But sometimes the promotional fares seem a little screwy: Curiously, it costs more to fly from New York City (JFK) to upstate New York in Syracuse ($119) than it does to fly all the way to Caribbean, specifically Turks and Caicos ($114).

Take note that in addition to basic flight deals, JetBlue is also promoting low-cost vacation packages nearly everywhere it flies. Three nights in West Palm Beach start at $409 per person with airfare from Boston, for example, while three nights in Turks and Caicos start at $595, including airfare, from New York City. For all of these deals, purchases must be made by Wednesday, March 1, and travel must be between March 8 and May 17. The least expensive prices are generally for midweek departures, and there are some blackout dates around peak travel weeks. Some sample fares:

Long Beach to Reno: $39
Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans: $44
Nashville to Fort Lauderdale: $54
Atlanta to Boston: $59
Baltimore to Orlando: $59
Hartford to Washington, D.C. (DCA): $59
Chicago to Fort Lauderdale: $64
Boston to Houston: $69
Charleston to New York (JFK): $69
Long Beach to Salt Lake City: $69
New York (JFK) to Bermuda: $79
Orlando to Mexico City: $99
New York (JFK) to Turks and Caicos: $114
Orlando to Los Angeles: $129
San Diego to Fort Lauderdale: $144

Travelers have until Thursday, March 2, to book the current sale prices with Southwest Airlines, which start as low as $39 one way. Pending availability, fares are valid for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from March 14 to June 14 on domestic flights, and generally on Sunday through Wednesday from April 18 to May 19 for international flights.

Las Vegas to Long Beach: $39
Hartford to Baltimore: $54
Long Beach to Oakland: $59
Fort Lauderdale to Nassau: $59
San Jose to San Diego: $59
Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale: $67
Oakland to San Diego: $69
Salt Lake City to Burbank: $79
Newark to Orlando: $82
Baltimore to Grand Rapids: $85
Atlanta to Detroit: $94
San Diego to Boise: $96
Los Angeles to El Paso: $97
Austin to Denver: $98
Dallas to Pittsburgh: $113
Los Angeles to Cancun: $129
Chicago to Cancun: $150

Finally, travelers should consider the new airfare sale from San Francisco-based Virgin America. Tickets start as low as $59 each way, but flights must be booked at least 21 days in advance, and no later than March 6. For the most part, the fares are valid only in a short window of time: between March 21 and April 11. Among the options:

Las Vegas to San Francisco: $59
Denver to San Francisco: $69
Seattle to San Francisco: $89
Dallas to San Francisco: $99
New York (Newark or JFK) to San Francisco: $159