I know what you are thinking … you dirty-minded you. This is not the American Pie.

MILF in this case stands for Many Islands Low Fares. It’s a marketing campaign ran by the new budget airlines called the Spirit Airlines (I call it the “Nine Bucks Fly” - keep reading to find out why) based out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. They specialize in flights to the Caribbean; mostly from the East Coast cities like Boston, NY, DC, Atlanta, and some Florida cities. They also serve the Midwest market; most notably Chicago and Detroit. The only cities west of Mississippi it serves are LA and Las Vegas. I doubt they will come to SF anytime soon.

Some people called the ad distasteful and obscene due to its usage of MILF acronym; and the fact that they alter the image of a Caribbean island in the ad to resemble a reclining woman. I think it is a marketing genius.

Some of their fares have raised eyebrows. $9* each way. I am not sure how much in taxes and fees you have to pay. Speaking from my own experience traveling with a European budget airlines, those taxes and fees could be as expensive as the price of a regular ticket. I am not sure whether US carriers play by the same rule. Spirit Airlines has an email signup for the $9 Fare Club. You pay $9 for the 3-month trial membership to be join, and $29.95 annually after that. They also have deals on hotels, cars, vacations, cruises, and excursions.

Anyway, I checked out a sample fare from Los Angeles LAX to Boston just to see how much taxes and fees they charge. Round-trip fare was $188.00. The taxes and fees amounted to $20.80 ($6.80 Segment Fees, $9.00 Passenger Facility Charge, and $10.00 Security Tax). You have an option to buy a Travel Insurance for $12.00 a person. Pretty good deal. They have 2 Class Service, Deluxe Leather or Big Front Seat. Why don’t they just call it Fat-Ass Seat? I guess that answered my question about how much taxes and fees a traveler will need to pay.

I think more competition in the airlines industry is good for consumer. I travel primarily on United Airlines or any airlines in the Star Alliance network; mainly due to its generous Frequent-Flyer Program. I am spoiled with all the miles they throw at me. Spirit Airlines has its own Frequent-Flyer Program.

I don’t know how good the airlines is, the on-time performance, customer satisfaction, etc. I just know I have one more option when it comes to travel. The 2008 Bob Proctor’s Caribbean Cruise is sailing out of Fort Lauderdale in October 2008, so watch out for those flights.

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