The US Airports With The Cheapest Average Airfares

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Long Beach Airport

Flickr/carpathiar

Long Beach Airport has the cheapest average flights in the US.

Flying is expensive, but you could save a lot of money just by booking a flight into an alternate airport.

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In Los Angeles? Instead of flying out of LAX (where an average flight costs $465), you may want to book a flight out of Long Beach Airport (LGB), where the average airfare costs just $216.

Cheapflights.com just released their fourth annual Airport Affordability Index, which ranks popular airports with the most affordable round-trip airfares, including tax.

California's Long Beach Airport (Daugherty Field; LGB) has the cheapest flights, with an average fare of just $216. Last year, LGB came in at the number two spot. South Carolina's Myrtle Beach Jetport (MYR) jumped to the number two spot (last year it was #42) with an average airfare of $249, and California's Fresno Air Terminal (FAT) came in at #3 with an average airfare of $270.

At the bottom of the list was Honolulu International Airport (HNL), with an average airfare of $689. Other airports in the bottom 10 were Washington Dulles International (IAD), Miami International (MIA), and New York's JFK International.

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The findings show that geography doesn't necessarily determine affordability. Instead, alternative airports in close proximity to large cities or outside of major metro areas tended to offer the cheapest flights. But keep in mind that a cheap airfare often means an indirect flight with several layovers.

Here are the top 10 cheapest airports:

RankAirportAvg. Airfare2012 Ranking
1Long Beach (Daugherty Field), CA (LGB)$2162
2Myrtle Beach Jetport, SC (MYR)$24942
3Fresno Air Terminal, CA (FAT)$2703
4Burlington International, VT (BTV)$28428
5Metropolitan Oakland International, CA (OAK)$2878
6La Guardia, NY (LGA)$29023
7Harrisburg International, PA (MDT)$2914
8White Plains, NY (HPN)$2957
9Bob Hope Airport, CA (BUR)$2971
10Akron-Canton Regional, OH (CAK)$30311

And here are the 10 most expensive airports:

RankAirportAvg Airfare2012 Ranking
92Albuquerque International, NM (ABQ)$55940
93Newark International, NJ (EWR)$56668
94Charlotte/Douglas International, NC (CLT)$57148
95John F. Kennedy International, NY (JFK)$58097
96Standiford Field, KY (SDF)$58754
97Salt Lake City International, UT (SLC)$58984
98Southwest Florida International, FL (RSW)$60347
99Miami International, FL (MIA)$61878
100Washington Dulles International (IAD)$65295
101Honolulu International, HI (HNL)$689100