May 23, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Fares are falling at McGhee Tyson Airport - faster than almost any other airport surveyed in the nation, according to a recent study.
Online:
In fact, the study found, while domestic rates jumped more than six percent nationwide; here in Knoxville, they fell three percent. Only two other airports, both in South Carolina, saw a bigger decline.
Chairman of the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority's Board of Commissioner Howard Vogel credited the decline to the arrival of Frontier Airlines and its routes to cities out West as well as greater competition low-cost carriers, including Frontier and Allegiant Air.
He cautioned, though, that without passengers those lower fares would quickly disappear.
"While we are mindful that history has shown that if not supported, low-fare carriers will leave our market," Vogel cautioned. "If that happens, our airfares will quickly rise."
The study of average airfares was released by the U.S. Dept. of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics and compared 3rd quarter fares in 2010 and 2011.
