What is RED Air? Low-fare airline makes headlines after fiery MIA crash

MIAMI (CBS Miami)

When a jetliner crash-landed at Miami International on Tuesday, you may have wondered: “What is RED Air?”

The low-fare airline, which launched last fall, flies between its home base in Santo Domingo and MIA.

It’s one of several new international low-cost carriers to pop up in South Florida.

Besides RED Air, there’s SKY, which flies between Miami and Peru, Norse Atlantic, which flies from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International to Norway, and on the horizon is French Bee, with direct flights from South Florida to Paris.

“There are business people out there, who want to make it work, especially now with so many people traveling,” says David Slotnick with the travel website and blog “The Points Guy.”

But he says low cost doesn’t mean less safe.

“To fly within the United States, you must meet minimum safety standards. The FAA enforces it strictly. There are a million redundancies for everything from mechanical work, inspections the whole thing,” he said.

Safety aside, there are other things to consider when flying low-fare carriers like RED Air.

“When you take a low-cost carrier, the big difference is there aren’t a network of planes and routes so you might get delayed and have no backup,” he said.

And there are sometimes hidden baggage and beverage costs, and less legroom on low-fare flights.

Slotnick adds that before you book, make sure you “look at the final cost for everything.”