These Cities Saw the Largest Airfare Price Increases This Year
Larger metropolitan airports have, for the most part, escaped the price increases.
It's no secret that airfare prices have spiked as of late. In fact, prices saw their largest single-month increase in six decades earlier this year. According to a new study, however, where you're departing out of can drastically affect the cost.
In a report released by CheapAir.com, which examined 127 million flight fares in April at airports across the US, even the cheapest domestic prices have increased by an average of 26% compared to last year. But who exactly has been hit the hardest? Smaller metropolitan areas.
"The desire for travel came back so intensely, industry experts coined a new term for this post-pandemic enthusiasm—revenge travel," the company said in its study. "Business travel hasn't rebounded quite as fast, but it too is on an upswing. With accelerated demand in a still capacity-strapped industry—fares are trending up, and show no sign of slowing."
Dayton, Ohio's airport saw the largest spike, with prices up 42% this year—with a $109 difference on average domestic tickets compared to 2021. Greensboro, North Carolina and Flint, Michigan followed shortly behind with 38% increases.
Larger outposts like the New York Metropolitan area's Newark Liberty International Airport only saw a 17% increase, while Houston's airport endured just a 15% uptick and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport came in with the lowest increase in domestic fares at 14%.
"Jet fuel prices have almost doubled in the past couple of months. And that's really driving the price increases for airlines," United Airlines' CEO Scott Kirby recently said. "We're in the recovery mode from COVID and you're trying to come out of what was the most devastating crisis in the history of aviation. We've got to get back… so we've at least got to recover the increase in jet fuel prices."