In what is certain to delight people who highly value cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages thegovernment announced last week that the average U.S. round trip airfaredeclined almost 4 percent to $378 in the second quarter of 2013 compared to theprior year.
The highest average ticket price from among the busiest 100U.S. airports was $547 in Huntsville, Alabama, followed by $518 inCincinnati. The cheapest was $159 inAtlantic City, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The price comparison included base ticket prices as well asall taxes and fees charged by government agencies and airports. Not included were optional fees such asbaggage fees.
Pessimists will probably greet this news with littleenthusiasm claiming that after so many price increases in recent years, that aprice drop in a single quarter of one year means little. However, the opposite is in fact the case.
Airfare prices have fallen appreciably since 1999 wheninflation is taken into account. Theaverage ticket price in the second quarter of this year was over 18 percentless than in 1999 when the record price for airfare was recorded in inflationadjusted dollars. Total consumer priceshave increased almost 41 percent since that time.
The continuing challenge to making air travel affordable isoptional fees. Such fees continue to bean increasing source of revenue for airlines and a growing cost forpassengers. U.S. airlines earned almost88 percent of their revenue from base ticket prices in 1990. This year such base ticket prices accountedfor less than 71 percent of their revenue.
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