Bob CollinsWhat is the cost of having a hub airport? About $57 a ticket in Minneapolis-St. Paul, according to data released today by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. MSP is one of the most expensive places from which to fly. It’s 11th among the 100 major cities — and it’s #1 as the most expensive hub for Delta, the local behemoth.
The average domestic fare here is $413.21, not including all the nickel-and-diming included in airline tickets. Houston is the most expensive ($476.60). The average fare in the country (domestic) is $356.
While the fares are pretty high at MSP, they haven’t changed that much over the last year, when compared to other cities. MSP ranks 49th on the list of airfare changes; fares are up about 11 percent from a year ago.
Of the top 100 airports in the country, Madison Wisconsin had the highest increase in fares — a 17.5 percent increase in the first quarter of 2011 over the same period a year ago.
The average airline fares in the country in the first quarter, by the way, are the highest they’ve been since 1995.
