Wichita airfares averaged $415 in second quarter, report says

Wichita’s average domestic airfare was $415.35 for the second quarter of 2014, up 2.7 percent from a year ago, according to information from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The local fare is 4.9 percent higher than the national average of $396 for the same period, which covers April, May and June. Average fares nationwide were up 2.5 percent from the second quarter of 2013.

The review of data showed that Wichita’s fares have dropped 30.1 percent since 2000, when they averaged $594.61.

Wichita ranked 39th highest of the 100 airports whose fares were reviewed.

Wichita fares were lower than those in Tulsa, which averaged $438.40 for the quarter, down 1.8 percent from a year ago. They also were lower than fares from Oklahoma City, which averaged $422.55, up 1.6 percent.

Wichita fares were higher than those in Kansas City, which averaged $387.72 for the quarter, up 4 percent from a year ago.

The second-quarter fare increase could be due in part to the loss of AirTran, which ended flights from Wichita in June 2013, when AirTran’s parent company, Southwest Airlines, started operating from Wichita.

“I don’t have any hard evidence,” said Valerie Wise, Wichita Airport Authority air service and business development manager. “But the increase could be due to the loss of low fares to Atlanta in June of that second quarter. Delta has raised fares to Atlanta quite a bit. That could possibly be the reason.”

AirTran offered a competing flight to Atlanta. Southwest does not.

Still, Wichita’s average fares are in line with the U.S. average, Wise noted.

According to the statistics, passengers in Cincinnati paid the highest fares at $523, while fares in Sanford, Fla., were the lowest at an average of $111.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics compared fares from the second quarter of 2000 to today for the top 100 airports.

Fares figured in the average were round-trip, domestic fares, unless the passenger did not buy a return trip. In that case, the one-way fare was included. One-way trips were 33 percent of the fares calculated for the second quarter of 2014.

Fares were the price of the ticket charged by the airlines plus any taxes and fees paid at the time of purchase.

This story was originally published October 28, 2014 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Wichita airfares averaged $415 in second quarter, report says."