An airline brand thriving in today’s economy? That sounds as rare as the dodo, or at least as uncommon as an on-time, hassle-free flight. But Allegiant Air has not only enjoyed yet another consecutive profitable quarter, but the Las Vegas-based carrier was the envy of other low-cost airlines at last month’s World Low-Cost Airlines Congress in Barcelona.

Allegiant’s strategy, worth a look no matter what kind of brand you own or manage, is threefold: serve smaller markets neglected by the larger brands; cut costs by having customers pay for additional services they once enjoyed for free – without alienating those customers, of course; and partnering with brands in related businesses.

The typical Allegiant passenger travels from a small (usually cold) city like Bozeman, Montana, or Wichita, Kansas, to a vacation destination like Vegas or Orlando. That passenger will pay very little for his fare (an average of $87, one-way). But because of fees for everything from a glass of water to storing a quiver of arrows, he’ll be shelling out an average of $26 extra per flight.

Though it seems passengers should be rebelling against those extra charges, they don’t. Allegiant co-founder and chief executive Maury Gallagher tells the Financial Times:

If you live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and we’re getting you out for $150 where once you had to pay $800, you almost want to be nice to us to make sure we don’t leave.

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Alaska Airlines will be the first U.S. airline carrier to test satellite internet service on their flights. The wireless internet will be tested on one plane. If that goes well all 114 of their planes will get the service.

The airline, based in Seattle, is getting broadband service from a company called Row 44 Inc. They’ll put the service on a Boeing 737 jet next spring. The connection will hold over water and across international borders. They fly to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.

You’ll be able to connect your laptop or smart phones. What will the service cost? That is still being worked out. They are still researching the cost, even considering free service for some passengers to a day pass.

Alaska Airlines isn’t the first to try offering internet access on places. In August, American Airlines said they would test high-speed Internet access on some of its Boeing 767 jets. They are using cell towers not satellites.

Boeing tried to offer the service but stopped when they couldn’t get enough airlines to sign on. Some of that was affected by 9/11 and perhaps because the service was quite expensive. Their service was also by satellite and cost $10 for the first hour, or $27 for 24 hours.

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