Real or fake: airlines that sound too bizarre to be true

With so many bucket airlines out there today, how do you know if the deal you just got on a ticket is actually from a legitimate airline?

Across the Internet it’s easy to find people who have been scammed by fake airlines.

In August a U.K.-based group calling itself Fair Airways that claimed it had flights to more than 36 countries yanked its website after first trying to collect $100 from potential cabin crew and staff.  Sunrise Air, founded in 2010, is a legitimate airline that provides charter flights in and out of Haiti, while Sunrise Airlines, established in 1992, is a business-jet charter operator out Taiwan.  But a few years ago, Sunrise Airlines a new "startup airline" based in Hungary raised suspicions after it presented itself as a new budget airline on a now defunct website.

Odd airline names or weird-looking aircraft designs don’t mean carriers aren’t smart choices to fly on. 

A large part of being a smart consumer is knowing where to find out about smaller airlines before you purchase your ticket. The good news for consumers is that Department of Transportation tells FoxNews.com they rarely receive complaints that sellers of air transportation are not legitimate operators. Still it never hurts to do your homework.

FoxNew.com turned to travel writer and expert Lee Abbamonte, the youngest American to visit every country in the world, to give us his insights into a few lesser-known airlines.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com