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I live in Cincinnati, and we have long been cursed with the #1 position in a very unflattering category: highest average airfares.  Part of that has been due to the fact that as a (former) Delta hub, airline competition at the airport has been quite low.  In fact, the current contract between CVG and the airlines is structured in such a way that Delta has veto power over just about anything that goes on at the airport, which has served to keep out low-cost carriers.

(SEE ALSO: The curious case of Delta and CVG)

While the airline contract expires at the end of 2015, things are at least moving in the right direction – with the introduction of several non-stop flights from CVG on Allegiant and Frontier, CVG no longer has the #1 highest airfares in the country!

The new leader

The new leader for highest airfare is Madison, Wisconsin (MSN), followed by Newark, NJ (EWR).  CVG is still in the top at #3, but we’ll take any progress we can get!

Here’s the data from the Department of Transportation.

highest-airfares-2014-q4

I can’t seem to win as my secondary airport of Dayton, OH (DAY) was #1 for the highest year over year increase, with a 15% increase from the 4th quarter of 2013, from $374 to $431.

Of course, one way to solve this problem is to learn the tricks of miles and points like I have – that way you don’t have to actually (GASP!) pay for airfare 😀


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