The new no-frills kids on the block

Simon Calder gives you the lowdown on all the latest budget airlines and their new destinations

Britain's regional airports may need to invest in new destination boards. Europe's budget airlines this week launched a squadron of new cheap flights from and within Britain. No longer is all the growth concentrated in south-east England; the Midlands, South Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the main beneficiaries of this winter's programme. Next year, the north-east and the south coast are set for a budget boost.

The UK and Ireland are way ahead of the rest of Europe in the development of no-frills aviation, but the Germans are hitting back; two new airlines, both based in Cologne, start up this winter and fly to London, while Air Berlin offered two new destinations from Stansted yesterday, and a third, to Hanover, is on the way.

This guide will help you to set a course through the increasingly complex air map of Britain. All the routes mentioned have begun in the past week, or are due to start later this winter. Each has a "lead-in" fare as low as £10 each way, but ticket prices at popular times – on Fridays, Sundays and Monday mornings – are likely to be much higher. Surcharges are payable if you book by telephone, instead of the internet, or use a credit card rather than a debit card.

The Airlines

Air Berlin: a low-cost, with-frills airline based in Berlin (0870 73 88880; www.airberlin.de)

Bmibaby: no-frills subsidiary of BMI, the airline formerly known as British Midland (0870 264 2229; www.bmibaby.com)

Buzz: no-frills subsidiary of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and which yesterday was detached from its former parent, KLM UK (0870 240 7070; www.buzzaway.com)

easyJet: Europe's first pure no-frills airline (0870 600 0000; www.easyJet.com)

Germanwings: no-frills operation based in Cologne, partly owned by Lufthansa (020-8321 7255; www.germanwings.com)

Go: no-frills start up from British Airways, now owned by, and bookable with, easyJet

Hapag-Lloyd Express: no-frills operation based in Cologne, owned by Europe's biggest holiday company, TUI, which also owns Thomson and Britannia Airways (0870 606 0519; www.hlx.com)

MyTravelLite: no-frills subsidiary of MyTravel Airways, formerly Airtours International (08701 564 564; www.mytravellite.com)

Ryanair: Dublin-based airline that takes pride in undercutting everyone else in the market (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com)

The airports and the destinations

Belfast (International)

New destinations: Birmingham (MyTravelLite); Cardiff (Bmibaby).

Birmingham

New destinations: Alicante, Belfast, Geneva (all MyTravelLite).

Bournemouth

New destinations: Buzz has announced plans to establish a base in the Dorset city next March. No routes have been revealed, but given the airline's existing route structure, Amsterdam, Paris and either Toulouse or Bordeaux look like good bets.

Bristol

New destination: Venice (Go).

Cardiff

New destinations: Alicante, Belfast, Edinburgh, Faro, Glasgow, Jersey, Malaga (all Bmibaby).

East Midlands

New destinations: Alicante (Bmibaby); Barcelona (Go); Geneva (Bmibaby and easyJet); Malaga (Bmibaby); Milan Bergamo (Bmibaby); Venice (Go). In addition, BMI flights to Amsterdam, Brussels, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey and Paris have been transferred to Bmibaby. New Bmibaby routes due to start in December include Cork, Toulouse and Salzburg.

Edinburgh

New destination: Cardiff (Bmibaby).

Glasgow

New destination: Cardiff (Bmibaby).

Luton

New destinations: Cologne (Hapag-Lloyd Express, from 11 December); Milan Bergamo (Ryanair, from 6 February).

Newcastle

New destinations: easyJet has announced it will establish a base at the city's airport in April, but has not revealed any destinations. Choose three from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Bristol, Geneva, Nice and Palma.

Stansted

New destinations: Cologne (Germanwings); Gerona (Ryanair, from 20 February); Hamburg (Air Berlin); Hanover (Air Berlin from 22 November); Strasbourg (Ryanair).