Travel
Air Passengers Had Spring Fever in 2022, Even With Airfares at Highest Point Since 2019 — Here's What Could Be in Store in 2023
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Spring is a time of new beginnings. It's also a time when many explore somewhere new and enjoy the warmer weather — or make the trek home to visit family.
In fact, according to the latest ValuePenguin study, spring travel last year increased at 95 of the 100 largest airports (based on total 2022 arrivals) compared to spring 2021. Although we're several years into the pandemic, COVID-related travel restrictions may have played a role.
Interestingly, the increase in spring travel coincided with the highest airfare costs since 2019. Here's what else we found.
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Key findings
- Air travelers sprung into action last spring. At 95 of the 100 largest airports based on total 2022 arrivals, average monthly arrivals increased between spring 2021 and spring 2022. (For this study, we considered April, May and June as spring.) LaGuardia Airport (120.1%) in New York City and Hollywood Burbank Airport (102.4%) in California saw the biggest spring-to-spring increases, while Southwest Florida International Airport (-7.4%) in Fort Myers, Fla. and San Juan, P.R.’s, Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (-1.4%) saw the biggest dips.
- These spring travelers helped make the quarter a 2022 standout. If you instead compare average monthly arrivals in spring 2022 to those during the full year, 92 of the 100 airports saw heavier spring travel. Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport and Myrtle Beach International Airport, both in Florida, saw the biggest differences between spring 2022 and the full year.
- Hope springs eternal, even with high airfare costs. Airfares in the second quarter of 2022 averaged $402.38 — up 17.4% from the prior quarter ($342.71). This was the highest since $410.91 in the fourth quarter of 2019, but it didn't stop travelers from showing up in droves at U.S. airports.
- Looking past spring 2022, airfare costs topped an average of $500 at three of the 100 biggest airports. The average airfare in the third quarter of 2022 — the latest available — was $540.06 at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska, $534.20 at Dane County Regional Airport in Wisconsin and $508.29 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
Air travelers had a spring in their step in 2022
Air travel saw an impressive bump in spring 2022, with average monthly arrivals increasing at 95 of the 100 largest airports — based on total 2022 arrivals — compared to spring 2021. (Keep in mind that spring is defined here as April, May and June.)
"This is about life returning to normal after the darkest days of the pandemic," says Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief credit analyst. "Americans absolutely love to travel. After not flying for so long, we returned to airports in a big, big way in 2022 as more and more people got vaccinated. Even though you typically had to wear masks in the airports and on the plane in the spring of 2022, people were willing to put up with the inconvenience to get back to flying."
Convenience can be associated with larger airports, and it seems to be a major contributor here. For example, according to a recent study from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 75% of passengers want to use biometric data to speed up the process: That's more likely to be found at major airports. Those airports also offer a wider selection of airlines — often with more destinations.
Interestingly, this jump in demand also coincided with an increase in delays during the first five months of 2022.
Based on our newest data, LaGuardia Airport (120.1%) in New York and Hollywood Burbank Airport (102.4%) in California saw the biggest spring-to-spring increases from 2021 to 2022. Of note:
- LaGuardia has about 72 gates, making it a major hub for travel. The airport also opened a new Delta Air Lines terminal in June 2022.
- Hollywood Burbank (formerly Bob Hope Airport) is a much smaller airport, offering just 14 gates. However, it's close to Universal Studios and has flights with many major airlines, including Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United.
In contrast, Southwest Florida International Airport (-7.4%) and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (-1.4%) in Puerto Rico saw the biggest dips in passenger air travel between spring 2021 and spring 2022. Interestingly, only three other airports on our list of 100 saw decreases during the examined time — and of the five that saw dips, four are in Florida.
Biggest changes between spring 2021 and spring 2022 air travel
Rank | Location, airport | Average monthly arrivals, spring 2022 | Average monthly arrivals, spring 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York, NY: LaGuardia | 1,255,153 | 570,305 | 120.1% |
| 2 | Burbank, CA: Hollywood Burbank | 271,872 | 134,355 | 102.4% |
| 3 | Arlington, VA: Reagan National | 1,052,814 | 542,782 | 94.0% |
| 4 | San Francisco, CA: San Francisco International | 1,394,922 | 770,636 | 81.0% |
| 5 | Austin, TX: Austin-Bergstrom International | 908,688 | 524,232 | 73.3% |
| 6 | Lihue, HI: Lihue | 154,787 | 89,414 | 73.1% |
| 7 | San Jose, CA: San Jose Mineta International | 479,186 | 277,604 | 72.6% |
| 8 | Rochester, NY: Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International | 104,228 | 60,590 | 72.0% |
| 9 | New York, NY: John F. Kennedy International | 1,265,146 | 750,254 | 68.6% |
| 10 | Boston, MA: Boston Logan International | 1,346,474 | 804,881 | 67.3% |
| 11 | Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Hancock International | 108,349 | 66,222 | 63.6% |
| 12 | Santa Ana, CA: John Wayne | 475,694 | 295,217 | 61.1% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data.
Spring travel was a standout in 2022
When you examine the monthly arrivals in spring 2022 to the monthly averages for the full year (with a caveat), 92 of the examined airports saw heavier travel in the spring. (Again, we're defining spring as April, May and June — the caveat is that the full-year data doesn't include December since November 2022 was the latest available.)
"It wasn't just that people were eager to fly again," Schulz says. "It was also that people had the money to do so. Yes, inflation was a problem then, too, but Americans' financial cushion was as big as it had been in many years. They reduced their spending during lockdowns, dramatically ramping up their savings and paying down their high-interest debt. That meant that once people felt safer taking to the skies again, they were in a good spot financially to do so."
Another factor here could be that the full-year data includes very slow months, such as January and February, when fewer people are traveling by air.
Taking a closer look at the data, two airports in the South — Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (22.4%) in Florida and Myrtle Beach International Airport (21.8%) in South Carolina — saw the biggest differences between spring 2022 arrivals and those during the full year.
These are relatively smaller airports, which means it takes fewer passengers to make such a large impact compared to larger airports with more passengers.
Just eight airports saw dips in travel when comparing spring 2022 to the full year. Of those, six are in the West. Unsurprisingly, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway — at the bottom of the list — doesn't offer any flights from major U.S. airlines.
Biggest differences between spring 2022 and full-year 2022 air travel
Rank | Location, airport | Average monthly arrivals, spring 2022 | Average monthly arrivals, full-year 2022 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valparaiso, FL: Destin-Fort Walton Beach | 104,091 | 85,052 | 22.4% |
| 2 | Myrtle Beach, SC: Myrtle Beach International | 179,349 | 147,274 | 21.8% |
| 3 | Savannah, GA: Savannah/Hilton Head International | 167,470 | 145,627 | 15.0% |
| 4 | St. Petersburg, FL: St. Pete Clearwater International | 115,397 | 100,564 | 14.7% |
| 5 | Charleston, SC: Charleston International | 247,005 | 217,840 | 13.4% |
| 6 | Sanford, FL: Orlando Sanford International | 124,212 | 111,445 | 11.5% |
| 7 | Pensacola, FL: Pensacola International | 112,746 | 101,687 | 10.9% |
| 8 | Norfolk, VA: Norfolk International | 191,746 | 173,539 | 10.5% |
| 9 | Boston, MA: Boston Logan International | 1,346,474 | 1,220,925 | 10.3% |
| 10 | Arlington, VA: Reagan National | 1,052,814 | 956,441 | 10.1% |
| 11 | Anchorage, AK: Ted Stevens Anchorage International | 233,358 | 212,088 | 10.0% |
| 12 | San Juan, PR: Luis Muñoz Marín International | 413,808 | 376,618 | 9.9% |
Source: ValuePenguin analysis of BTS data.
High airfares didn't stop spring travelers
Alongside the surge of air travelers in 2022 came a surge in airfare. In fact, in the second quarter of 2022, airfares averaged $402.38 — up 17.4% from $342.71 in the prior quarter.
"People were so ready to travel that they were willing to pay a little more," Schulz says. "Also, reduced spending and government stimulus meant they had more money in the bank anyway, so they weren't as worried about splurging a bit."
Notably, the average in the second quarter of 2022 was the highest since the fourth quarter of 2019, when the cost was $410.91.
Given the dip in costs that coincided with the first year of the pandemic (and the return of interest in travel), it appears that airlines have caught on to the surging demand — and the prices tend to reflect that.
Average domestic airfares (nationally)
Quarter | Average airfare |
|---|---|
| Q3 2018 | $403.48 |
| Q4 2018 | $422.54 |
| Q1 2019 | $410.38 |
| Q2 2019 | $413.56 |
| Q3 2019 | $398.59 |
| Q4 2019 | $410.91 |
| Q1 2020 | $385.65 |
| Q2 2020 | $299.03 |
| Q3 2020 | $279.24 |
| Q4 2020 | $296.77 |
| Q1 2021 | $293.09 |
| Q2 2021 | $329.96 |
Source: BTS data.
How airfares changed after spring 2022
After spring 2022, airfare costs dipped 4.7% to $383.57 in the third quarter — the latest available. This could be explained by the simultaneous dip in travelers' ability to pay such high prices, Schulz says.
"As 2022 went on, gas and grocery prices spiked, and the cost of seemingly everything rose by the day, and the toll that took on Americans' budgets kept growing," Schulz says. "Knowing that, it's not hard to understand why people might have been less eager to fly later in 2022 than they were in the spring."
Still, costs topped an average of $500 at three of the 100 biggest airports:
- $540.06 at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska
- $534.20 at Dane County Regional Airport in Wisconsin
- $508.29 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia
The first two of these airports saw a relative increase in demand in the third quarter compared to the prior one. Dulles, however, saw a slight decline — though its status as a major U.S. hub could impact its high prices.
Average domestic airfares (by airport)
Rank | Location, airport | Average airfare, Q3 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage, AK: Ted Stevens Anchorage International | $540.06 |
| 2 | Madison, WI: Dane County Regional | $534.20 |
| 3 | Dulles, VA: Dulles International | $508.29 |
| 4 | Greer, SC: Greenville-Spartanburg International | $493.21 |
| 5 | Birmingham, AL: Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International | $479.44 |
| 6 | Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Douglas International | $458.35 |
| 7 | San Francisco, CA: San Francisco International | $456.84 |
| 8 | Pensacola, FL: Pensacola International | $444.51 |
| 9 | Portland, OR: Portland International | $439.87 |
| 10 | Knoxville, TN: McGhee Tyson | $439.23 |
| 11 | Tucson, AZ: Tucson International | $438.13 |
| 12 | Little Rock, AR: Clinton National | $437.96 |
Source: BTS data.
What could be in store for air travel in 2023
Air travel appears to have weathered the dip that came with the pandemic, and it appears that average airfare prices are already showing the increased confidence in, and desire for, travel. And that isn't likely to change anytime soon.
"I think people should expect travel to get more expensive in 2023 because it's likely that most everything will continue to get more expensive in 2023," Schulz says. "I also expect demand to continue to be strong. That means that people need to be as thoughtful as ever about planning their travel."
Being careful about when you book, what you splurge on and how you use your credit card miles is going to be important if you want to save on your future travel plans.
Methodology
ValuePenguin researchers first analyzed U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data to compile a list of the 100 largest airports based on total 2022 arrivals.
We compared average monthly arrivals in the spring months — April, May and June — of 2021 and 2022. We then compared average monthly arrivals in April, May and June 2022 to the full year (December 2022 wasn't included because the data wasn't available at the time of research).
Lastly, we ranked airfare prices as of the third quarter of 2022. Airfare data is via the BTS' Passenger Origin and Destination (O&D) Survey and is based on domestic itinerary fares.