How Much Does a Flight to New York Cost? Fares by Origin, Season and Distance, Taxes and Airport Traffic for US Domestic Routes to JFK, LaGuardia and Newark from DOT, BTS and Port Authority Data, 1996–2026

The price of a flight to New York is reported in several incompatible ways: fare-search averages of prices shown, official averages of tickets sold on city-pair markets, and average itinerary fares for trips starting at each airport. We assemble all three and keep them apart. On the top US domestic city-pair markets that include New York, the passenger-weighted average one-way fare was USD 271.86 in the first quarter of 2026 and USD 252.01 over 2025, against USD 202.50 in 1996 in current dollars. Origin dominates: California–New York fares averaged USD 458.65 one way, 2.02 times Florida's USD 227.24 and 2.40 times Illinois' USD 191.17, and passenger-weighted fares rose from USD 192.27 on routes under 500 miles to USD 418.55 on routes of 2,000 miles or more. In commercial fare-search data the average round trip was USD 305, ranging from USD 228 in January to USD 366 in July. Backing 2026 statutory charges out of a USD 305 nonstop round trip, USD 49.93 (16.4%) is federal taxes and airport fees, and USD 68.16 (22.3%) on a one-stop itinerary. Trips starting at JFK averaged USD 497.23 in the second quarter of 2026, at Newark USD 495.84 and at LaGuardia USD 404.23. The three airports handled 142.4 million passengers in 2025, above the 139.9 million of 2019, and received 414,548 domestic passenger flights, 73% of them of three hours or less gate to gate. All inputs are public.

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-10-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23146806
Primary Topic
Aviation Industry Analysis and Trends
Type
article
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article

How Much Does a Flight to New York Cost? Fares by Origin, Season and Distance, Taxes and Airport Traffic for US Domestic Routes to JFK, LaGuardia and Newark from DOT, BTS and Port Authority Data, 1996–2026

Helen Askew, Daniel R. Whitcombe
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Aviation Industry Analysis and Trends
article

How Much Does a Flight to New York Cost? Fares by Origin, Season and Distance, Taxes and Airport Traffic for US Domestic Routes to JFK, LaGuardia and Newark from DOT, BTS and Port Authority Data, 1996–2026

Helen Askew, Daniel R. Whitcombe
article en

Abstract

The price of a flight to New York is reported in several incompatible ways: fare-search averages of prices shown, official averages of tickets sold on city-pair markets, and average itinerary fares for trips starting at each airport. We assemble all three and keep them apart. On the top US domestic city-pair markets that include New York, the passenger-weighted average one-way fare was USD 271.86 in the first quarter of 2026 and USD 252.01 over 2025, against USD 202.50 in 1996 in current dollars. Origin dominates: California–New York fares averaged USD 458.65 one way, 2.02 times Florida's USD 227.24 and 2.40 times Illinois' USD 191.17, and passenger-weighted fares rose from USD 192.27 on routes under 500 miles to USD 418.55 on routes of 2,000 miles or more. In commercial fare-search data the average round trip was USD 305, ranging from USD 228 in January to USD 366 in July. Backing 2026 statutory charges out of a USD 305 nonstop round trip, USD 49.93 (16.4%) is federal taxes and airport fees, and USD 68.16 (22.3%) on a one-stop itinerary. Trips starting at JFK averaged USD 497.23 in the second quarter of 2026, at Newark USD 495.84 and at LaGuardia USD 404.23. The three airports handled 142.4 million passengers in 2025, above the 139.9 million of 2019, and received 414,548 domestic passenger flights, 73% of them of three hours or less gate to gate. All inputs are public.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Aviation Industry Analysis and Trends
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