Dane County Regional Airport ticket prices have risen at some of the highest rates in the United States, according to a study from loan marketplace LendingTree.
The study, which analyzed data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, found that domestic flight ticket prices at the Dane County Regional Airport spiked 16.6% between 2022 and 2023. The Dane County Regional Airport’s domestic ticket prices averaged $537, the most expensive of the 100 airports studied.
In addition to rising ticket prices, travelers often face other “hidden costs” of air travel. Luggage fees, parking fees, tolls and transportation fees also add to the cost of flying, according to CNBC.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, plane ticket prices had risen to a national high before crashing in 2020, according to the Cap Times.
Between the first quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, domestic airfare costs increased by 9.8%, primarily due to inflation and rising demand for flights after the pandemic, LendingTree chief analyst Matt Schulz said in the study.
“Once people started to feel safe about traveling again after the darkest days of the pandemic, the floodgates opened and people headed to the airport in droves to make up for lost time,” Schulz said.
This rapid increase in prices came from airlines rather than the airport itself, Dane County Regional Airport spokesperson Michael Riechers told the Cap Times.
The airport controls only the price of the fees it charges airlines, Riechers said, which are “very competitively priced within our industry.”
“It costs the airlines about the same to use our airport as it does the majority of other airports our size,” Riechers told the Cap Times.
Nationally, airlines have experienced a nearly 150% spike in jet fuel prices, and seat capacity remains below pre-pandemic levels. Combined with a shortage of pilots, flight attendants and higher labor costs, these factors have contributed to rising airfare costs, according to CNBC.
Larger airports with more volume are able to keep costs lower due to higher demand, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The amount of frequent travelers through the comparatively smaller Dane County Regional Airport is too minimal to be able to set the costs at a similar rate.
Schulz predicted prices will rise into the near future.
“Assume that airfares will keep going up and plan accordingly,” Schulz said. “If you’re saving today for a dream vacation in the next year or two, try to save a little more than you think you need to.”
