BURBANK — Bob Hope Airport has the third-lowest fares of the top 100 airports in the nation, according to a federal transportation study that tracked prices from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009.
Burbank airport’s average fare touched down at $231 compared with $315 nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Transportation surveyed one-way and round-trip fares charged by carriers, along with taxes collected by airports.
Promotions and frequent-flier miles were not included in the study.
In a possible sign of the times, average domestic airfares dropped 9.1% in the first quarter of 2009 from the fourth quarter of 2008, the biggest quarter-to-quarter drop on record.
Three California airports topped the list in terms of affordability.
City-owned Long Beach Airport had the lowest fares, followed closely by Oakland International Airport.
Factors driving ultra-competitive fares at Bob Hope Airport include the large percentage of short-distance flights, the considerable presence of low-airfare carriers and the low cost of doing business for those companies, said Dan Feger, executive director of the Burbank-Glendale- Pasadena Airport Authority.
Airlines last fiscal year paid $1.83 per passenger to fly out of Burbank — the lowest among the top 100 airports and significantly less than Long Beach at $5.34, John Wayne at $9.93, L.A./Ontario International at $9.60, and $14.90 at Los Angeles International.
Fees go toward rent, landing and fuel-storage costs, Feger said.
The most dramatic impact on airfares at Bob Hope can be traced back to April 1990, when Burbank was considered a premium market with a high priority placed on business travel, airport spokesman Victor Gill said.
Southwest Airlines, which now accounts for two-thirds of operations, introduced a $49 nonstop fare from Burbank to Sacramento and $59 from Burbank to Oakland, Gill said.
The fares represented a stark departure from the usual round-trip ticket from Burbank to Sacramento for $454.
Traffic in the last half of April 1990 increased 35% compared with the same period the previous year.
The rest of 1990 saw increases of 50% month-to-month.
“That was really the beginning,” Gill said. “And it also brought in the pleasure traveler.”
Competition over the years from Ontario, Van Nuys, Long Beach, LAX and John Wayne also helps prices remain low, Commissioner Charles Lombardo said.
