SLC has become one of the nation's most expensive major airports
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Salt Lake City International is the nation's fourth-costliest major airport to fly out of domestically, per the latest Transportation Department data.
By the numbers: Average domestic airfare out of SLC ran $410.70 in the third quarter of 2024.
- The average for all U.S. airports was $366.
- Washington Dulles was the most expensive, at $473.
The other side: Vacation hotspots like Las Vegas and Orlando, Florida, had some of the cheapest domestic departures among the country's 50 busiest airports.
- You could fly out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for a relatively measly $252 in Q3 '24, on average.
Between the lines: Lots of factors affect airports' average fares.
- If an airport has more work travelers buying business- or first-class tickets, for example, that could drive up the average fare.
- Conversely, a heavy presence of budget airlines could reduce the average fare. (That's probably what's happening in places like Vegas and Florida.)
What they're saying: Competition among airlines is another major factor, says Zach Griff, senior reporter at The Points Guy. So costs tend to go up at hubs dominated by one carrier, like United at Dulles — or Delta at SLC.
- "If you're based at Dulles, you're at a disadvantage, because very few other airlines are flying many of the routes that United flies," Griff said, "and United has monopoly pricing power, and so it raises airfares — it's a strict game of supply and demand."
Caveat: This is a snapshot in time, and airfare can rise and fall over the year.
Yes, but: SLC saw its ranking fall just once during the past year, dropping to No. 6 during Q1 of 2024.
- For annual average ticket prices, SLC has ranked in the top 10 since 2019.
- By 2023, it was the third-most expensive airport of the busiest 50.