There has been a lot of talk lately about cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages being harder to find because airline ticket prices are rising. In the first quarter of this year airfares were up 5 percent from last year. However, when inflation is taken into account, average ticket prices are 25 percent less than in 1999 according to the U.S. Transportation Department.
The average price for a domestic airline ticket in the first quarter of 2010 was $328. Only once, since 2001, has the average price in the first quarter been higher when it reached $333 in 2008.
The government calculation of ticket prices includes taxes and security fees but does not include any discretionary charges for things like checked baggage or seating that offers extra legroom.
Airline passengers paid an average of 18 percent more in June of 2010 than last year, according to the Air Transport Association.
Low-cost airlines have a tremendous impact on local airline prices. The most expensive average fare during the first quarter of the year was in Huntsville, AL, and lowest was in Atlantic City. Huntsville airline service is controlled largely by major airlines and offers very little service by discount airlines.
The largest rise in ticket prices from 2009 to 2010 happened in Charleston, SC, where AirTran stopped offering service last December. At the other extreme, prices dropped by largest margin in Milwaukee where Southwest Airlines started offering service in 2009.
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