First Quarter 2024 Average Air Fare Decreases 0.23% from Fourth Quarter 2023

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

BTS 35-24

The average U.S. domestic air fare decreased in the first quarter of 2024 to $388, down 0.23% from the fourth quarter 2023 inflation-adjusted fare of $389.

Itinerary Fares: Round-trips, but includes one-way tickets if no return is purchased.
Breakout of trip types: one-way, 39% ($282); round-trip, 61% ($469).

Fare calculations by BTS
*Based on a sample of approximately 10% of tickets sold.
Total ticket value: The price charged by airlines at time of ticket purchase.
Included: All fees and charges levied by an air carrier required for the passenger to board the aircraft. Also, additional taxes and fees levied by an outside entity at time of ticket purchase.
Not included: Fees for optional services, such as baggage fees, seat upgrades, and selecting an assigned seat on the aircraft.

Line chart showing U.S. Average domestic fares for 1st quarter 1995-2024

Inflation-Adjusted Average Air Fares
First Quarter 2024 fare ($388):
Compared to all first quarters: Down 38.0% from the highest 1Q fare, $625 in 1999.
Compared to all quarters: Down 38.0% from the highest fare for any quarter, $625 in 1Q 1999.
Start of BTS records: Down 36.5% from 1Q 1995 ($611).
Recent high: Down 10.4% from 2Q 2019 ($433).
Recent low: Up 32.7% from 3Q 2020 ($292).
All-time low: Up 32.7% from the previous low 3Q 2020 ($292).
All-time first quarter low: Up 26.4% from the previous low 1Q 2021 ($307).

Other Revenue: In recent years, airlines have increasingly obtained additional revenue from passenger fees, as well as from other sources. U.S. passenger airlines collected 74.2% of total operating revenue of $41.6 billion from passenger fares during the three months of 2024, down from 88.5% in 1990.

Bar chart showing U.S. average domestic quarterly fares in third quarter 2020 - 1st quarter 2024

Unadjusted Average Air Fares
First Quarter 2024 fare ($368):
Trend: Up 0.8% from 4Q 2023 ($385).
Compared to all first quarters: Down 0.5% from the highest 1Q fare, $390 in 2015.
Compared to all quarters: Down 3.5% from the highest fare for any quarter, $402 in 2Q 2014.
Start of BTS records: Up 30.7% from 1Q 1995 ($297) (compared to 105.7% consumer price increase).
Recent low: Up 58.5% from 3Q 2020 ($245).
Recent high: Down 2.3% from 2Q 2022 ($397).
All-time low: Up 58.5% from 3Q 2020 ($245).
All-time first-quarter low: Up 49.1% from 1Q 2021 ($260).

Fares by Airport

Fares by airport group:
Highest: 6 airports with 2.0 million plus originating passengers ($400)
Lowest: 1 airport with 50,000-99,999 originating passengers ($197)

Additional data: see Top 100 Airports or All Airports. Second Quarter 2024 average fare data will be released October 15, 2024.