The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals. Sign up today!
Take your best shot at airlines—the delays, the bounced passengers, the baggage charges—but at least the fares are affordable lately. Across the nation, airfares for the last quarter of 2009 were lower than they’ve been since the same period in 2006, according to The Associated Press. Denver, once known for higher-than-average prices, saw fares drop 30 percent in the last 10 years. The city now boasts fares lower than two-thirds of the nation’s 100 largest airports, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data (via the Denver Business Journal). In dollar terms, the average Denver International Airport fare was $291.53 versus the $319.31 at the 100 biggest airports at the end of 2009. Ten years ago, a Denver flyer would have paid an average of $418.53, per ticket, representing the fourth-largest cost decline over the decade among all major airports. The highest average domestic fare is in Huntsville, Alabama: $491.82.