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Flight prices are really taking off.
The latest Transportation Department data has revealed the most expensive and the cheapest airports to fly out of.
According to the data, Axios reported that Washington Dulles International in Washington, DC; John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, California; and San Francisco International are the costliest U.S. airports for domestic departures.
The average domestic airfare for all U.S. airports came in at $366; by comparison in the third quarter of 2024, Dulles (IAD) came in at $473 — over $100 more than the national average.
Departures from John Wayne (SNA) cost an average of $428, while San Francisco (SFO) departures come to $425.
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC), Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) were also in the top average prices for outbound flights, coming in at $411, $404 and $403, respectively.
Meanwhile, major vacation destinations turned out to have some of the lowest average prices for departures.
Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) was the cheapest, with outbound flights costing an average of $252.
Other popular travel hotspots were on the cheaper end, too. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was an average of $266 for departures, Orlando International Airport (MCO) came in at $270, and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, clocked in at $275.
Perhaps surprisingly, major cities such as Manhattan and Chicago also had some of the cheapest prices. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) clocked departing flights at an average of $292 and NYC’s LaGuardia Airport at $303.
Multiple components can affect an airport’s average fare, according to Axios.
For example, it may go up if the airport has an increase in work travelers purchasing tickets in business or first class. Additionally, if many budget airlines are present at an airport, the average price may decrease.
Zach Griff, senior reporter at The Points Guy, told the outlet that another big factor is competition between major airlines — especially if an airport is a hub for a specific carrier. Dulles, for example, features United Airlines.
“If you’re based at Dulles, you’re at a disadvantage because very few other airlines are flying many of the routes that United flies,” Griff shared. “And United has monopoly pricing power, and so it raises airfares — it’s a strict game of supply and demand.”
