A new carrier named JetAmerica (how creative) recently announced its arrival on the scene of low-cost airlines, targeting “B” and “C” markets (Toledo, South Bend, Lansing, and Newark) where airports are quick to subsidize routes servicing their ailing destinations.

Perhaps Lansing may not be your first pick for a getaway, but for $9 each (going to the first 9 to 19 seats sold on each flight), you can bet budget seekers will be rethinking their travel plans (plus, if you didn’t know it already, flying into Newark is just as good, if not better than flying to any of the inner-NYC airports). The upshot? Hopefully success begets expansion.

As if Americans weren’t already envious enough of Europe’s wide selection of low cost airlines that charge less than the price of what most airlines in America tack on to check a second bag, they’ve now gone ahead and instituted a price war, driving fares even lower.

“Let’s hope there is a price war,” Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara defiantly said in response to news that British Airways and Virgin slashed prices by up to 25%. Taking the metaphor a little too literally, Mr. McNamara went on to quote Henry V. “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother. And by brothers I mean our baggage handlers, stewards, stewardesses, and dedicated airplane mechanics across Great Britain.”

Not that there aren’t a few deals that trickle their way down to us Yanks. For example, how about Barcelona from New York for under $400? Thinking somewhere warm and someplace where you can actually fly to cheaper than the Europeans, how about South America, with some round-trip tickets for under $400?