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Report: Airfares from Hobby among lowest in 2Q
By Houston Business Journal
October 30, 2008

The average cost of flights from Houston’s William H. Hobby Airport was among the five lowest in the nation during the second quarter, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Hobby came in third with an average domestic return fare of $256, almost $100 less than the national average of $352, but up from $234 in the same quarter in 2007.

Joining Hobby in hosting the lowest fares was Dallas Love Field at No. 1 with $221, followed by Burbank, Calif. at $252, and Chicago Midway and Oakland, Calif., both at $257.

Among airports with the highest average fares, George Bush Intercontinental Airport came in at No. 14 with an average domestic fare of $423 during the second quarter, up 12.4 percent from $376 in the second quarter of 2007.

Cincinnati had the highest average fare at $595, followed by Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C. at $568; Knoxville, Tenn. at $524; Madison, Wis. at $468; and Grand Rapids, Mich. at $461.

The metro Houston area — meaning both airports together — had the third-highest average airfare for the second quarter among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas with an average fare of $365. The metro New York area had the highest average fare at $379, followed by the metro Boston area with an average fare of $375.

Nationwide, the average domestic air fare for the 2008 second quarter was $352 — the highest fare for any quarter since the bureau began measuring data 13 years ago. The $27, or 8.1 percent, increase from the second quarter last year represents the largest year-to-year increase since the second quarter of 2006.

The bureau measured data from 100 of the nation’s largest airports. Average fares are based on domestic itinerary fares, round-trip or one-way for which no return is purchased. Fares include taxes and fees. Averages do not include frequent-flyer or “zero fares” or a few abnormally high reported fares.

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