People have long grumbled that the cost of flying in and out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is expensive, and a new report out by Lets Fly Cheaper confirms it.
Technically, MSP did not land on the website's list of the 20 most expensive places to catch a flight, mainly because it did not survey airports where a majority of the flights are operated by regional carriers such as Mesaba and Pinnacle airlines. That is the case at MSP where Delta contracts with such carriers.
The survey looked at fares charged by mainline carriers such as Delta, United, Alaska, American, US. Airways and low-cost carriers Spirit and Southwest, and at airport where those carriers operated a majority of the flights.
The average round trip domestic ticket in the Twin Cities is $448.70, which would have landed it fifth on the list had airports with lots of regional carriers been factored in. The average round trip domestic fare in the United States is $384.81. So the Twin Cities is way above the national average when it comes to flying, no matter if it's on a regional airline or mainline airline.
It could be worse. Topping the list are three United Airlines hubs, Houston Bush ($517.50) , Washington Dulles ($504.20) and Newark Liberty ($480.30) airports.
Dallas-Fort Worth at $449.40 was no. 4 and the Twin Cities would have placed fifth at $448.70.
Sean Delanty, director of marketing for Lets Fly Cheaper, said airlines such as Delta are looking to take back routes that formerly were flown by regional airline, and that should help price come down some.
"That will be good for consumers," he said, noting that regional airlines have higher operating costs, which drive up ticket prices. "Prices are likely to be lower in 2013 in my opinion."
