by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 7:26 PM ET, Thu June 13, 2019
Summer travelers beware: Washington Dulles International Airport is the most expensive airport to fly from.
According to a new study from FinanceBuzz, which involved analyzing U.S. Department of Transportation data from the 45 busiest airports, the average ticket from Dulles, otherwise known as IAD, is $427.37.
Rounding out the top five most expensive airports in the country are Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (CLT) $425.77; Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) $413.66; Newark Liberty International Airport (IAH) 413.66 and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) $390.20.
Pricy airports like Dulles and the others identified by the report are hubs for traditional airlines like United and American, FinanceBuzz's Tracy Odell, vice president of content and author of the study, told TravelPulse.
"An airport like Dulles is operating a lot of higher airfare flights, but travelers will also get a bit more for their money, things like free carry-ons and seat selection," said Odell.
Together, the 45 airports studied by FinanceBuzz serve as the departure point for more than 500 million passengers annually.
The study found that McCarran Airport in Las Vegas topped the list for cheapest fares, followed by two Florida airports, Fort Lauderdale Hollywood Airport, and Orlando Airport. The average airfare from these three airports comes in under $250.
The nation's two busiest airports, meanwhile, Los Angeles (LAX) and Chicago O'Hare, fall in the middle of the pack. LAX comes in at number 29 with an average fare of $352.79 and O'Hare is number 19 on the list with a ticket price of $338.55.
The report also compares the airfare in several metro areas where travelers have a choice of three or more airports within a 70-mile radius. The results showed that costs vary widely.
Flyers who live in areas where there are multiple options and who are willing to shop around and travel a bit further to an airport from home could see substantial savings.
Even in Boston, where the report found the least discrepancy between metro airports, average fares varied by 17 percent. In Los Angeles, where there was the largest discrepancy in prices, there's a massive 73% variance between the four regional airports.
"We see that especially in metro areas where you have multiple airports to choose from, it's well worth your time to look into flights from all airports. We see a huge variance between fares even when comparing airports within an hour drive of one another," Odell told TravelPulse.
Odell also noted that the airfares identified by the study are actually the average airfares for the airports in question all year long, not just during the summer.
In other words, when it comes to booking your flight, you'll want to do your due diligence to get the best price, Odell said.
Finally, if you're thinking that overall none of these airfares look too bad, you're right. Average domestic air fares in 2018 were the lowest (with inflation adjustments) since the Bureau of Transportation Statistics began collecting these records in 1995.
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