Austin Airport 23rd Cheapest In Terms Of Airfare In U.S.

AUSTIN, TX — With travelers poised to take off on summer vacation, a new study analyzing domestic airfares found Austin is the nation's 23rd cheapest as it relates to airfare.

FinanceBuzz recently analyzed average domestic airfares from the 45 busiest airports in the U.S. to find the cheapest airports to fly from. Austin took the 23rd ranking with average domestic fares from the capital city at $341.51. Researchers drew from U.S. Department of Transportation data to compile their rankings.

Interestingly, paying more isn't directly correlated to having an on-time departure. The saying "you get what you pay for" apparently doesn't apply to flight promptness, it would seem: "Your audience will be surprised to see that paying more isn't going to make having an on-time departure more likely, which we found by calculating a proprietary efficiency factor," analysts wrote via email in piquing Patch's interest in alerting to their findings.

In terms of that secretive proprietary efficiency factor, analysts offered it was calculated using the following variables: passengers/flight, percentage of on-time departures, and average delay (in minutes).

Elsewhere in Texas, Love Field ranked among the nation's cheapest for air travel. The airport was ranked 8th overall, with an average fare of $303.32. Hobby Airport in Houston also ranked higher than Austin in the cost rankings, coming in two notches above Austin in the 21st ranking. The average flight cost at Hobby was an average of $338.79, according to the findings.

The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport was on the higher end, coming in at No. 40 with average fares costing $383.43. Bush Intercontinental Airport was more expensive, ranking 43rd with an average fare cost of $413.66, analysts found.

Spoiler alert: The nation's cheapest airport in terms of average flight cost is Mccarran International Airport in Las Vegas, with an average fare of $240.35. The most expensive: Washington Dulles International Airport, with an average flight cost of $427.37.

But don't get too giddy about the relatively cheap fares enjoyed by flying out of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. "It's not all good news for travelers, though," researchers wrote in their report. "These airfares do not include extra fees paid at the airport or on board the aircraft, a growing source of aggravation for travelers and revenue for airlines. As airlines reduce fares, they're adding and increasing fees, like those for baggage and seat selection, that can increase overall costs for passengers."

It's part of an upward trend, analysts found: "Looking at the first nine months of 2018, 74 percent of U.S. passenger airlines' total operating revenue came from fares, down from 87.6 percent of their total revenue in 1995. In short, that means more of their revenue is coming from fees that aren't always included in ticket prices."

The savviest travelers sometimes reduce or avoid these extra fees by paying them online before arriving at the airport or using a co-branded travel credit card that offers free checked bags, analysts noted in the way of a travel tip.

You can read the full report here: 2019 U.S. Airport Cost Rankings.