About Air Fares

This page presents two different measures of air fares. Both are computed using data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' Passenger Origin and Destination (O&D) Survey, a 10% sample of all airline tickets for U.S. carriers, excluding charter air travel.

Average Fares are based on domestic itinerary fares. Itinerary fares consist of round-trip fares unless the customer does not purchase a return trip. In that case, the one-way fare is included. Fares are based on the total ticket value which consists of the price charged by the airlines plus any additional taxes and fees levied by an outside entity at the time of purchase. Fares include only the price paid at the time of the ticket purchase and do not include other fees paid at the airport or onboard the aircraft. Averages do not include frequent-flyer or "zero fares" or a few abnormally high reported fares.

The second measure is the Air Travel Price Index (ATPI), a statistical index that documents quarterly changes in airline prices since the first quarter of 1995. The index measures changes in airline ticket prices used on identical routings and identical classes of service on a quarter-by-quarter basis.