Good news for budget fliers looking to book an affordable U.S. getaway: economy airfares in the top 10 largest markets within America actually have gotten slightly cheaper in 2025, according to new data.
Aviation analytics firm OAG examined ticket prices in the 10 largest city pairs in the U.S. air travel market and found that most of the average airfares for 2025 have trended downward.
The largest price reduction so far this year has been on fares from Las Vegas (LAS) to Los Angeles (LAX), which have been 7% cheaper in 2025 than in 2024. Throughout the year, Las Vegas has seen a dramatic drop in tourism numbers, but OAG’s report shows that economy airfares from Sin City to all U.S. destinations have only dropped by 1% on average.
Other city pairings with downward trending airfares include:
-
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and Los Angeles (LAX), which saw prices drop by 6%
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and New York City-area airports, where fares got 5% cheaper
-
New York City to San Francisco (SFO), with a 3% price reduction
Los Angeles (LAX) to New York City, which got 1% cheaper
Miami (MIA) to New York City, which also dropped by 1%
Despite the New York market appearing four times on that list, some economy fares to New York City-area airports from large cities did indeed get more expensive this year, including those from Chicago (5%), Atlanta (6%), Orlando (2%), and Dallas (1%). However, fares for all U.S. cities served from New York are down 3% this year, for an average fare of $586.
Interestingly, these fares have gotten more affordable even as the industry has trimmed domestic capacity in 2025 to help counter weaker travel demand earlier in the year. New aircraft have also been slower than normal to hit the market amid various manufacturing delays. “Supply in the aviation industry has certainly been constrained in recent years as supply chain shortages have impacted capacity,” said John Grant, OAG’s chief analyst.
Airlines have also focused on reducing airfares slightly to help bring back demand for domestic economy seats, and it’s a strategy that appears to be working. In addition to the U.S. market, OAG’s report examined the 10 largest city pairs in Asia (excluding China) and Europe. Flights within Asia were getting cheaper in every market, whereas the majority of airfares in Europe were trending upward.
Out of the 30 global city pairs examined in the report, 18 of them saw reductions in average coach airfare for 2025.
“So while it may feel as if everything is becoming more expensive, a combination of increasing capacity and airlines looking to stimulate demand means there are still some reduced fares to be found,” the report says.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
