There are very few “positive” things you can say about the coronavirus pandemic, especially in the travel industry. Tourist destinations took advantage of their “pause” to work on long-needed renovations. Ecosystems and pollution levels of popular tourist areas improved.
Another good thing? Flight pricing dropped last year. In fact, the national average airfare cost fell just over $60 in 2020 versus 2019, from $352.27 to $292.20, according to FinanceBuzz.
That $60+ decrease was the lowest average airfare cost the U.S. has seen, looking back all the way to 1995 (using inflation-adjusted dollars, of course).
PC: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
FinanceBuzz, the pioneer website that provides tips, advice, and recommendations to help its readers make financial decisions recently looked at the average domestic airfares from the 45 busiest airports in the United States to determine the most and least wallet-friendly.
Their methodology:
We looked at 2020 airfare data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation on April 20, 2021 to compare domestic airfares by origin city. This report calculated average fares based on domestic itinerary fares.
“Itinerary fares” consist of round-trip fares unless a return trip was not purchased, in which case the one-way fare was used. Fares are based on total ticket value, including the price charged by the airline plus any additional taxes and fees levied at the time of purchase. Fares include only the price paid at booking and do not include fees for optional services like baggage fees. Averages also do not include frequent-flyer or “zero fares” or a few abnormally high reported fares.
The 10 airports with the lowest average airfares were:
- $209.95 Mccarran International Airport (LAS)
- $214.87 Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
- $215.93 Orlando International Airport (MCO)
- $234.64 Chicago Midway Airport (MDW)
- $250.02 Oakland International Airport (OAK)
- $252.81 Denver International Airport (DEN)
- $253.70 New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
- $256.63 Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
- $256.71 San Jose International Airport (SJC)
- $259.49 Dallas Love Field (DAL)
The 10 with the highest average airfares were:
- $344.35 John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- $338.11 San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- $335.27 Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (CLT)
- $329.56 Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
- $324.50 Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
- $323.50 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- $315.76 Ronald Reagan Washington Airport (DCA)
- $313.79 Detroit Metro Airport (DTW)
- $311.73 San Antonio International Airport (SAT)
- $308.82 Kansas City International Airport (MCI)
Go to this page of FinanceBuzz to see the full list.
Prices like that prove one of the points we’ve made in the past about ways to save money on flights – sometimes you can save money on your flight just by going to a different airport. Obviously, it needs to be nearby (i.e., LaGuardia [$279.91] or Newark-Liberty [$305.89] can be viable alternatives for JFK [$344.35]), but if you have an option like that, it might be worth your while if you can save yourself a chunk of change.
There are other ways to save money while looking for airfare – check them out here. But also consider:
- Promo codes (they’re few and far between for some airlines, but are offered pretty regularly on others)
- Skiplagged (we don’t, but some people swear by it)
Happy flying!
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
1 comment
True – up until April, flying into/out of MCO has been a bargain for long hauls from the west coast!
Unfortunately, demand has caught up and the prices have returned to 2019 pricing – some markets have better deals such as FLL and TPA but the ULCC’s will help keep pricing down into MCO from many cities as compared to smaller and mid-sized cities who experience much higher pricing.
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