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Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT) is among the top U.S. airports for soaring airfare increases.
According to a study from financial technology company SmartAsset, FAT ranked No. 3 among airports with the largest airfare changes from Q1 to Q2 this year with a 34% increase, or about $120.
Topping the list with the largest airfare change in that period is San Francisco International (SFO) with a 36% increase and dollar change of $134, followed by Los Angeles International airport (LAX) with a 34% increase and dollar change of $116.
FAT placed second on the list of where airfare has increased the most on an annual basis, with the airport seeing an increase of about $140 in its average airfare since the second quarter of 2021 for a total average fare of $474 — the seventh highest in the nation.
That is an increase of about 42%.
Topping the list of where airfare has increased the most since Q2 2021 is Pensacola International Airport (PNS) with a 51% increase, or about $157. Third on the list is the Seattle-Tacoma international Airport (SEA) with an average fare of $437, a 49% increase — or $144 higher.
To obtain these figures, SmartAsset analyzed airfare price increases nationally and across the 100 busiest airports, based on the total number of domestic passengers in 2021.
A key finding of the study is that average airfare prices increased nearly 21% over the second quarter of 2022, with average cost of domestic flight in the U.S. increasing from $328 to $397.
Western airports are seeing the largest increases in airfare with six of the 10 airports with the largest price increases being in the West — two in California, two in Washington, one in Idaho and one in Arizona.
In the West, FAT ranked the highest with its average $474 ticket price and $140 increase from 2021.
The study was conducted over a turbulent period in the airline industry. And when it comes to FAT, travel demand has definitely increased. FAT closed 2021 with nearly one million passengers. FAT is on track to surpass 2 million passengers by the end of 2022.