Author: Dawn Gilbertson, USA TODAY

Budget airline Allegiant plans to return to Palm Beach, Florida, and Fort Collins, Colorado, beginning in November.

Spirit Airlines’ business model of low fares and a flurry of fees can be confusing for travelers. The discount airline with the bright yellow planes

USA TODAY took seven Spirit Airlines flights in five days to test the budget airline’s fledgling turnaround. The trip went off with few hitches.

The bat was flying through the cabin on a 6 a.m. flight from Charlotte to Newark. Someone captured it and put it in the bathroom, one passenger said.

Allegiant has added Allegiant Extra seats on flights out of Los Angeles. For a fee, passengers get extra legroom, priority boarding and a drink.

The flight attendant was bitten on the hand during a flight from Dallas to Greensboro, North Carolina, and required five stitches.

American Airlines just expanded the window where basic economy passengers can buy seat assignments from 48 hours to a week before the flight.

American Airlines blames flight woes on a slowdown by its mechanics to gain leverage in contract talks. The union denies it and blames management.

Southwest has stopped using combined safety information cards following the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft due to fatal crashes.