US airfares rose over four percent in first quarter

The average domestic airfare in America increased by 4.4 percent in the first three months of 2008, as compared to the first quarter of 2007, the U.S. government reported earlier this week.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation noted that numbers for the first-quarter numbers documented the largest increase in average domestic airfares since mid 2006. The increase during the first quarter of 2001 still ranks as the highest ever, at 4.6 percent.

According to the report, the average cost of a domestic ticket in the first quarter of 2008 was $332.

Of America’s 100 largest airports, Boston saw the largest average fare increase in the first quarter. The Cincinnati Airport recorded the highest average fares, the government reported stated.

The period covered in the study ran from January 1 through March 31, 2008. Average air fares are continuing to increase, as has the price of oil, which soared to nearly $150 per barrel, before a recent decline.

A spokesperson for the online fare research company FareCompare.com, Rick Seaney, said last week that airfares across the country had seen a 20 percent rise during the first half of 2008.

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