HEBRON, Ky. -- Ticket prices at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport are edging closer to another one of its regional competitors.
An average roundtrip from CVG cost $367 in the fourth quarter of 2016 -- a 12 percent drop from the prior year -- according to data released Tuesday by the Department of Transportation. That's only $7 higher than fares in Columbus, the second straight month prices between the two have been within 2 percent.
CVG is also further distancing itself from Dayton. Fares locally in quarter four were -- on average -- $26 less expensive than the Montgomery County-based airfield. It's the third consecutive month CVG has proven lower.
Fares at CVG have been steadily declining for the last three years, thanks in part to low-cost carriers Frontier and Allegiant, which now carry 21 percent of the passenger load. As recently as 2014, CVG was considered the most expensive airport in the country from which to fly. Over the last 24 months, the average cost of roundtrip travel to and from CVG declined by roughly $129 per passenger, airport officials said.
While its fares are still higher than the national average ($347 in the fourth quarter), CVG recently dropped out of the top 25. The latest report has it at No. 42, it's second-best positioning since the DOT started issuing an airfare report in 1995.
Prices are still better in Indianapolis. Per the data, an average ticket cost $18 less there than at CVG.
Here's a comparison of airports with their fourth-quarter average roundtrip fares and number of originating passengers:
- Indianapolis: $349; 611,400
- Columbus: $360; 506,840
- Cincinnati: $367; 428,130
- Dayton: $393; 146,010
- Lexington: $395; 92,830
- Louisville: $404; 214,590
