OFFICE OF AVIATION ANALYSIS (X-50)

 

Contact Function Programs Organization 

Airport Competition and Air Fare Data

 

Calendar Year Data

 

Air Fare Data 1999 Press Release 

(DOT Begins Phaseout Of Requirements for Filing of Air Fares)

This data has been prepared in compliance with Section 155 of Pub L. 106-181, to be used in the development of Airport Competition Plans. One 

component of the Competition Plan is an evaluation of the submitting airport’s fares compared to those at other large and medium airports. The 

following fare and traffic data was developed to provide a basis for the requisite analysis. The source of all data is the DOT’s Origin and Destination 

Survey.

Table 1: Competitor Detail by Airport

Table 1 consists of a list of the carriers present in each summarized airport market, along with each carrier’s local passenger traffic, average fare, 

average nonstop trip length, and market at that airport. 

Table 2: Airport Market Summary 

Table 2 provides passenger numbers, average nonstop trip length, average yield, and number of city-pair routes summarized by airport. Each 

airport’s city-pair markets were divided according to nonstop distance and the presence of low-fare competition. The data for each airport is the 

presented divided into short-haul and long-haul groupings, into market grouping with low-fare competition vs. without low-fare competition, and in 

total. 

Table 3: City-Pair Detail

Table 3 provides non-directional market passenger numbers, revenue, nonstop and track mileage, and information on the number and type of 

competitors in each individual city-pair used in the summary analysis. City-pair origin and destinations are ordered alphabetically by city name. 

Distance Block and Density categories are also included for ease of sorting and manipulation.

Table 4: City-Pair Detail by Competitor with 10% Market Share

Table 4 provides the same information as Table 3, but broken down by competitor. Only carriers with a 10 percent or greater market share are 

listed. Therefore, city-pair totals in this list may not match market data in Table 3. 

Data Use

We expect most airports submitting a Competition Plan to rely primarily on the summary data in Tables 1 and 2. While these tables do provide 

valuable information to be used in fare comparisons, highly summarized data does have some inherent shortcomings. Users of the summarized 

data should take the following into considerationz Average length of haul, even within the short-haul and long-haul subsets, can vary considerable from airport to airport. Average trip length 

differences should be taken into account when making yield comparisons, as shorter trips justify a higher per-mile yield. For this reason, 

we recommend that direct comparisons between markets be restricted to those of similar average trip length.

z The summarized data in Table 2 also does not allow for comparisons of city-pairs with similar densities. Economies of scale justify lower 

fares in extremely dense markets. 

The presence of a low-fare competitor in a city-pair market is often a primary determinant of fare levels. The summarized data was broken out into 

low-fare and non-low-fare markets so that averages for the entire airport are not misleading should the average be brought down by a very few 

large markets that benefit from low-fare service. When comparing itself with other markets, an airport might note differences in the percentage of 

traffic traveling in low-fare markets.

For airports interested in conducting more rigorous analyses, Table 3 supplies a complete list of all city-pair markets involving one of the qualifying 

large or medium airports. The data for each airport can be sorted according to distance (distance blocks provided for easy sorting) and/or density, a 

useful method of identifying ‘trouble spots.’ Table 2 also specifies the number of competitors in each city-pair and whether or not one of the 

competitors is a low-fare carrier. This information, combined with the list of competitors in each market found in Table 3, can help further refine an 

airport’s efforts to identify the characteristics of markets with uncompetitive pricing.

Definitions and Assumptions 

z Large or Medium Airport: Any airport that accounted for .25% of total enplanements (provided by FAA). 

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

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z Time period covered: Annual for year noted 

z All data is airport-specific 

z Data includes all Origin and Destination city-pair routes involving one of the 68 eligible medium or large airports that average 10 or more 

passengers each day for the period considered. 

z The carrier in each table is the reported ticketing carrier. Carrier '99' signifies passengers that traveled on an interline itinerary (itinerary 

reflected two or more ticket-issuing carriers, not operating). 

z Table 2 short-haul markets are any city-pairs with a nonstop distance of 750 miles or less. Long-haul markets are city-pairs with a nonstop 

distance of more than 750 miles. 

z A low-fare market is any market in which a low-fare carrier held ten percent or greater market share on a city-pair route during the period 

considered. 

z A competitor is any carrier that held a ten percent or greater market share on a city-pair route during the period considered. 

z Passengers include all market traffic, including zero-fared passengers. 

z Average Stage Length: The nonstop distance weighted by number of passengers. 

z Yield: Total revenue divided by total revenue-passenger-miles (nonstop). 

z Low-fare carriers in current year data: Airtran, American Trans Air, Casino, Frontier, JetBlue, National Airlines, Southwest, Spirit, Sun 

Country, Vanguard. 

z Distance Block Groupings: (Table 3- provided for ease of sorting) 

o 250: 0 to 250 miles; 

o 500: 251 to 500 miles; 

o 750: 501 to 750 miles; 

o 1000: 751 to 1,000 miles; 

o 1500: 1,001 to 1,500 miles; 

o 2000: 1,500 to 2,000 miles; and 

o 2001: greater than 2,000 miles. 

z Density Groupings: (Table 3- provided for ease of sorting) 

o 20: 10 to 20 passengers/day; 

o 50: 21 to 50 passengers/day; 

o 100: 51 to 100 passengers/day; 

o 200: 101 to 200 passengers/day; 

o 500: 201 to 500 passengers/day; 

o 501: Over 500 passengers/day. 

 

Revised June 2009

Content provided by Michael Lane

(202) 366-2352

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