Even Cheapest Airport's Average Fares Shot Up Almost 200 Percent

It's no secret passengers are paying more than ever for the privilege of being stuffed onboard a commercial airliner... but numbers provided Wednesday by the Department of Transportation put the exact level of gouging into stark relief.

Average US domestic air fares in the second quarter of 2008 reached the highest level of average fares for any quarter in the 13 years measured by available data, according to the DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported the average domestic itinerary fare in the second quarter was $352, exceeding the highest reported average fare in the first quarter of 2001.

Average domestic air fares in the second quarter of 2008 were up 8.1 percent from the second quarter of 2007 in the largest year-to-year increase since the second quarter of 2006, and average fares increased 3.0 percent above the previous April-to-June high set in 2006 (Table 6). The second-quarter 2008 average fare was up 14.7 percent from the post-9/11 second-quarter low of $307 in 2005.

Average fares increased 18.5 percent from the second quarter of 1995 to the second quarter of 2008 compared to a cumulative 44.5 percent inflation rate. Second quarter 2008 fares increased 8.1 percent from the second quarter of 2007 compared to a 5.0 percent inflation rate. Average fares are based on domestic itinerary fares, round-trip or one-way for which no return is purchased. Fares include taxes and fees. Averages do not include frequent-flyer or "zero fares" or a few abnormally high reported fares.

Of the top 100 airports based on originating passengers, the highest second-quarter average fares were in Cincinnati; followed by Greenville/Spartanburg, SC; Knoxville, TN; Madison, WI; and Grand Rapids, MI. The lowest fares in the top 100 airports were at Dallas Love, TX; followed by Burbank, CA; Houston Hobby; Chicago Midway; and Oakland, CA.

The largest year-to-year average fare increases for the second quarter among the 100 largest airports, ranked by 2007 originating passengers, was 21.1 percent in Greenville/Spartanburg, SC; followed by Knoxville, TN; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Chicago Midway; and Washington Reagan National. The biggest year-to-year average decrease was 3.8 percent in Charleston, SC; followed by Salt Lake City; Austin, TX; Oakland; and Milwaukee.

The largest average fare increase from the second quarter of 1995 was 196.9 percent at Dallas Love, followed by Lubbock, TX; El Paso, TX; Houston Hobby; and Las Vegas. The largest average fare decrease from the second quarter of 1995 to the second quarter of 2007 was 35.1 percent in White Plains, NY.

A separate measure of fares, the BTS Air Travel Price Index (ATPI) reached an all-time high in the second quarter, up 4.1 percent from the previous high set in the first quarter of 2008. The ATPI was up 7.2 percent from the second quarter of 2007 to the second quarter of 2008.

FMI: Read The Full Release , Historic Data Available Here