Average airfare drops at regional airports: What’s really going on

The average airfaire at Dayton continues to be higher than other regional airports, but Cincinnati and Columbus airfares continue to drop below national averages.

Dayton aiport’s domestic average airfare was $425.04 during the fourth quarter of 2018, the 10th most expensive of the top 100 airports in the United States, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

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Meanwhile, neighboring Cincinnati and Columbus have seen airfares drop over the past several years. Cincinnati’s average domestic airfare was $334.32, nearly $25 less than the national average of $359.30. The fares have also dropped from $551.57 five years ago, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Columbus has seen similar trends, with its average domestic airfare dropping to $354.95 from $395.15 five years ago.

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Cincinnati has seen dropping flight costs as it attracts new low-cost carriers. Conversely, as Dayton has lost low-cost flight options, costs have been on the rise. Southwest airlines pulled service in the summer of 2017 and Allegiant recently announced that its flights through the Dayton Airport would become seasonal.

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