The US airline business appears to be profitable again, that for most domestic lines. What makes it profitable is there are plenty of good airplanes available at bargain prices. These two combinations are luring some airline hopefuls into the airline business like bees to pollen.

Recently there have been five airline startups announced to the media. Two have recently started operations and three are making claims they are close.

Of the new startups three of the five are following the Allegiant model (low cost leisure travel service), by concentrating on smaller cities and dodging direct competition with the big industry players. The other two are focusing their efforts on the Las Vegas market.

The strategy that today’s startups use is that they either already have planes and are crewed as charter operators or have plans to contract their flying out to other charter operators. This way the upfront capital requirements are minimized and they are able to bypass most of the government red tape of startup airlines.

Two of the recent startups are Direct Air and Vision Airlines. Direct Air is an Allegiant business model clone. Direct Air flies to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and several Florida destinations, including Melbourne and West Palm Beach from the smaller regional cities as Kalamazoo, Mich., Niagara Falls, Rockford, Ill., Worcester, Mass., and a few larger cities. Flight frequencies range from two to five flights a week depending on seasonality and most flights are direct. Airplanes are a mix of MD88 and 737 models, all one class. In addition to the airfare, baggage fees are $25 for the first and $30 for the second for in advance bookings and more for at the airport.

Vision airlines follows the Allegiant business model based around charter operation at startup, now with an extended scheduled network. Its destinations are small and mid-sized cities to and from Destin/Fort Walton Beach, in Florida. Among the cities it’s currently servicing are Baton Rouge, La., Greenville, S.C., Huntsville, Ala., Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Shreveport, La. Only a few flights bypass the Florida hub. Most flights are in 737s or small 30-seat turboprop Dornier 328s and operate only once to three times weekly.

In addition to the basic airfare, Vision charges for checked baggage ranging from $15 for one bag to $30 for the second, while advance seat allocation, sodas and snacks are all free. As with Direct Air, Vision promotes hotel packages and holiday deals.

Industry insiders are not surprise that these recent startups imitate Allegiant. They are by far the most profitable (margins) of any U.S. airline. To date neither Direct Air nor Vision seems to be causing Allegiant’s any headaches anywhere, but that could change.