Airfare spikes surge, but three U.S. hubs still offer cheap tickets

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, airline tickets have jumped 2.2% from last month and are up 26% compared with June of the prior year, driven by rising fuel expenses, pilot shortages, supply-chain bottlenecks and robust summer travel demand. The shutdown of Spirit Airlines in May removed a major low-cost option, further tightening the market. Travel analysts at Going explain that airports with multiple carriers battling for passengers tend to keep fares down, highlighting Denver, New Orleans and Orlando as the top three domestic hubs for cheap flights.

United, Southwest and Frontier compete fiercely at Denver, while Southwest and Breeze vie at New Orleans, and high return-flight capacity helps keep Orlando prices low. Conversely, airports such as Kahului in Maui and Anchorage see few deals and higher average fares. For international routes, Boston, New York (JFK) and Newark offer the best prices due to their status as primary East Coast gateways.