BTS reports average fares based on domestic itinerary fares. Itinerary fares consist of round-trip fares, unless the customer does not purchase a return trip. In that case, the one-way fare is included. One-way trips accounted for 38 percent of fares calculated for the second quarter of 2017. The average domestic one-way air fare was $253 in the second quarter of 2017, while the average round-trip air fare was $432. Fares are based on the total ticket value, which consists of the price charged by the airlines plus any additional taxes and fees levied by an outside entity at the time of purchase. Fares include only the price paid at the time of the ticket purchase and do not include fees for optional services, such as baggage fees. Averages do not include frequent-flyer or “zero fares.” Constant 2017 dollars are used for inflation adjustment.

Inflation-Adjusted Air Fares

The second quarter fare of $356 was the lowest second-quarter fare since 2009 when the fare was $345. The second-quarter 2017 fare was down 26.6 percent from the average fare of $485 in 1999, the highest inflation-adjusted second quarter average fare on record. Since 1995, inflation-adjusted fares declined 25.4 percent (Table 1). See BTS Air Fare web page for historic data.

In recent years, airlines have obtained additional revenue from fees charged to passengers, as well as from other sources. U.S. passenger airlines collected 75.0 percent of their total revenue from passenger fares during the second quarter of 2017, down from 87.6 percent in 1995 (Table 2).

Quarter-to-Quarter Change

Average fares rose 1.2 percent from $352 in the first quarter of 2017 to the $356 in the second quarter of 2017, the third consecutive quarterly increase. Prior to that, fares declined for six consecutive quarters after reaching an inflation-adjusted recent high of $397 in the second-quarter of 2015 (Table 3).

Unadjusted Air Fares

The $356 second-quarter 2017 average fare was up 1.0 percent from the second quarter 2016 fare of $353 and up 17.9 percent from the recession low of $302 in the second-quarter of 2009. The second quarter 2017 fare was down 10.0 percent from the fare of $396 in the second quarter of 2014, which was the highest average second quarter fare since 1995. Since 1995, unadjusted fares rose 19.9 percent compared to a 60.8 percent increase in overall consumer prices (Table 4).

Second quarter 2017 fares of $356 were up 1.2 percent, from the first-quarter 2017 fares of $352. Although second quarter 2017 average fares were down 7.8 percent from the second quarter of 2015 ($386), they were up 3.5 percent from the third quarter of 2016 ($344) following three consecutive quarterly increases (Table 5). See Air Fares for historical data.

Fares by Airport

Of airports grouped by the number of originating passengers in the second quarter of 2017, the 42 airports with between 100,000 and 499,999 originating passengers had the highest average fares ($382). Airports with 1.5 to 1.99 million originating passengers had the lowest average fares of any group ($335) (Table 6).

Tables listing the airports by group can be found on the BTS Air Fare web page.

For additional data, see Top 100 Airports or All Airports. Since average fares are based on the Origin and Destination Survey 10 percent ticket sample from each airline, averages for airports with smaller samples may be less reliable. Fares for Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico airports are not included in rankings but are available on the web page. Third Quarter 2017 average fare data will be released Jan. 16.

Note: Results for average fares are based on the BTS Origin & Destination Survey, a 10 percent sample of airline tickets used during the quarter. For results based on all itinerary fares, the standard error is 0.29. The 90 percent confidence interval ranges from $355.43 to $356.40. For results based on round-trip fares, the standard error is 0.36.  The 90 percent confidence interval ranges from $431.66 to $432.84. For results based on one-way fares, the standard error is 0.35. The 90 percent confidence interval ranges from $252.82 to $253.98.