Travel sites like Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia and Airfare Watchdog can be helpful when searching for that low airfare that meets your travel schedule. Jay Kruz’s blog, Jet with Jay, is also updated with travel deals and ideas. In addition to travel sites, there are some well-known pro tips on how and when to book a cheaper flight—like buying your ticket on a Tuesday around seven to nine weeks out from your departure date (during non-COVID times). And, traveling early in the morning on cheaper days like Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays helps, too.
But, understanding why and how airfares fluctuate is a bit more complicated. If you’ve lived in or visited the Cincinnati region in the last 10-15 years, you’ve probably asked yourself this question. You likely recall airfares being high at CVG Airport. CVG was ranked having the most expensive airfares for several years, which is not a first-place title you want your hometown airport to hold. The further down in the ranking, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s average airfare report, the better.
So, when CVG started touting #69, #78 and #83 airfare rankings, we received the question: “how is this good news?”. The U.S. Department of Transportation takes the top 100 airports in the country (based on passenger counts) and compares their average airfares over a period of three months or one quarter. They then rank those airports from most expensive (#1) to least expensive (#100).