You may have already figured out that flying in and out of smaller airports is often more affordable than traveling between major city airports, but have you ever looked for a clearer picture of how local airports stack up?
For the fifth year, Cheapflights.com has published its Annual Airport Affordability Index ranking the affordability of the 101 most popular U.S. airports. The index, which also includes the average airfare for these airports and how rankings have changed since last year, is based on the average airfares site users found in the month of June for flights to the most popular domestic destinations, like Las Vegas, Orlando, Honolulu, Atlanta, Denver, New York, San Juan. and San Francisco. Also includes are popular international destinations such as Dublin, Paris, Los Cabo, Vancouver, and London.
Newcomers in this year's top 10 most affordable airports include Charleston International, Dallas Love Field, Joe Foss Field, Chicago Midway, San Jose International, and Bradley International (Hartford, CT). Second-ranked Long Beach, just over 20 miles from Los Angeles International (LAX), has been in the top five every year -- and is, Cheapflights claims, a prime example of the price incentive for going a little out of your way. The average June airfare from Long Beach to Seattle was $172 compared to $206 when departing from LAX. For flights to London Heathrow, users looking to leave from Long Beach found an average fare of $1,095, versus the $1,167 for flights out of Los Angeles International. (Bear in mind, though, that, long-haul flights will require at least one stopover, as few airlines do fly out of Long Beach.)
Of the 101 most-searched airports, below are the 10 that Cheapflights found to have the lowest average round-trip airfares, including taxes, for travel to the most popular destinations:
| Rank | Airport | Average Airfare | Ranking Last Year |
|
1 |
Charleston International, SC (CHS) |
$191 |
30 |
|
2 |
Long Beach (Daugherty Field), CA (LGB) |
$200 |
1 |
|
3 |
Harrisburg International, PA (MDT) |
$236 |
7 |
|
4 |
Dallas Love Field, TX (DAL) |
$266 |
65 |
|
5 |
Joe Foss Field, SD (FSD) |
$267 |
N/A |
|
6 |
Chicago Midway, IL (MDW) |
$269 |
18 |
|
7 |
Bob Hope Airport, CA (BUR) |
$274 |
9 |
|
8 |
San Jose International, CA (SJC) |
$277 |
17 |
|
9 |
Myrtle Beach Jetport, SC (MYR) |
$287 |
2 |
|
10 |
Bradley International, CT (BDL) |
$295 |
51 |
On the flip side, users found the highest average round-trip prices, including taxes, at these 10 airports:
| Rank | Airport | Average Airfare | Ranking Last Year |
|
92 |
Northwest Arkansas Regional, AR (XNA) |
$513 |
82 |
|
93 |
Anchorage International, AK (ANC) |
$521 |
87 |
|
94 |
Port Columbus International, OH (CMH) |
$524 |
81 |
|
95 |
Boise Air Terminal (Gowen Field), ID (BOI) |
$536 |
37 |
|
96 |
Southwest Florida International, FL (RSW) |
$562 |
98 |
|
97 |
El Paso International, TX (ELP) |
$568 |
49 |
|
98 |
John F. Kennedy International, NY (JFK) |
$581 |
95 |
|
99 |
Tulsa International, OK (TUL) |
$596 |
58 |
|
100 |
Newark International, NJ (EWR) |
$694 |
93 |
|
101 |
Honolulu International, HI (HNL) |
$842 |
101 |
