TIA fares among nation's lowest

Competition makes flying a bargain in the bay area. But deals for passengers mean lower revenues for airlines.

By JEAN HELLER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 10, 2003

	Highs and lows
	Lowest average one-way fares
	Sacramento, Calif.	$117
	Oakland, Calif.	$118
	Las Vegas	$126
	Fort Lauderdale	$130
	Raleigh/Durham, N.C.	$130
	Tampa	$132
	Phoenix	$132
	Orlando	$135
	Baltimore	$137
	Columbus, Ohio	$138
	Highest one-way fares
	San Francisco	$232
	Minneapolis	$215
	Washington, D.C.	$208
	Denver	$189
	New York	$189
	Philadelphia	$188
	Los Angeles	$188
	Boston	$186
	Dallas	$182
	Houston	$177
	Source: U.S. Department of Transportation

The figures, compiled by the U.S. Department of Transportation, cover the second quarter of 2002 and generally reflect where TIA falls in any given three-month period, said Louis Miller, executive director of the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.

"We're always somewhere between fifth and eighth," Miller said. "We might flip places with Orlando occasionally, but we're always in there among the 10 lowest average fares in the country."

Three Florida airports made the lowest fares list, with Fort Lauderdale at No. 4 and Orlando at No. 8 (see chart). The lowest average one-way fare was out of Sacramento, Calif., at $117 a person. The highest fare was out of San Francisco at $232.

The average one-way fare out of TIA is $132.

Among Florida's seven largest airports, TIA ranked third behind Fort Lauderdale ($130) and Jacksonville ($127) for the lowest average fares. Orlando's average flight was $3 more than Tampa's, at $135. The highest average fares in Florida are from Miami International Airport, at $174.

What's good news for passengers is bad news for the airlines. TIA is tied with Los Angeles International Airport as the fifth-lowest revenue generators among airports serving more than 1-million passengers a year.

Airlines at TIA and LAX produce on average 13.2 cents per passenger per mile in revenue for the carriers that serve the airports. The worst revenue generator is Las Vegas McCarran International Airport at 10.8 cents per passenger mile, and the best is Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport at 21.1 cents.

"You can see why the airlines are losing money," Miller said. "Generally speaking they do best at hub airports with a single dominating airline and not much in the way of low-fare service. There's no way you can make money in Florida because fares are so low due to all the competition."

At TIA, low-fare carriers include Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines and Air Tran. Their presence and the cheaper seats they offer tend to force full-fare carriers to trim fares to stay competitive.

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