KNOXVILLE (WVLT) – Flying out of McGhee Tyson Airport can frequently cost up to five times more than other airports around the nation. The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport attributes the high fares to the fact that there are no low-cost carriers that fly into Knoxville. The lack of a low-cost airline means there isn’t enough competition to force major-carriers to drop the price for many of their destinations.

That changed on Wednesday when US Airways announced it was going to lower the cost of airfare from Knoxville to dozens of cities in hopes of drawing more passengers.

USAir officials say in recent months their flights out of McGhee Tyson have only been about 60 percent full. The new prices will cut the cost of certain fares by up to 67 percent. For example if you needed to go to Birmingham on a last minute business trip it used to cost $604 one way. Now it is one of several cities including Gainesville, Florida and Kansas City that will cost $249 each way.

The change was good news for Kurt Alexander, who frequently has to travel to Canada at the last minute on business. Those trips use to cost his company $684 for a one way ticket to Toronto. Under the price cut, the same ticket will only cost $349.

“By doing short term booking you always get stuck with a very high price," he said. “These cuts are great for anybody doing business in today's economy where money's tight."

The airline is also slashing leisure prices up to 73 percent in hopes that families will start flying instead of diving to vacation destinations. Flights from Knoxville to Myrtle Beach use to cost $338 each way, but will now cost $179. One way fares to Daytona Beach and Daytona Beach will both drop to $99.

"It's really important to support the person who brought you to the dance,” said Danni Varlan of East Tennesseans for Airfare Competition. “In this case it's US Airways."

There is no expiration date for the lower fares, but if the new prices don’t work well, the airline will consider changing them back to what they were originally.

US Airways is also currently running a $99 special until February 12th for flights completed by May.

Knoxville’s only low-cost carrier is Allegiant Air, which is offering a $49 special right now from Knoxville to three cities in Florida. You can find out about both deals by clicking on the links below.