Travel Thursday: The Rates Are Too Dang High

Memphis airfares are notoriously high, but they’ve gotten even worse in the past year or so. In many cases, a round-trip ticket from your destination to Memphis is about half the price – I’ve checked (out of morbid curiosity). I frequently drive to Nashville or Little Rock (both pleasant, easy airports) and fly Southwest from there, although with gas prices, the cost ends up about the same nowadays. Last time I booked a flight, I saw one from Memphis for over $500, and the exact same flight from Little Rock with a stop in Memphis (i.e. where you would board for the $500 ticket) cost $250. I’m sorry, but there’s no excuse for that.

According to this very informative article, Memphis is the second most unfairly priced airport in America. So it’s not in our heads. When Southwest bought AirTran, I had high hopes that they’d move in and create some real competition, but so far nothing has changed.

(By the way, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida was ranked most competitive, and I can attest to that! I can almost always fly there for a price that doesn’t make me cry. Plus they have beautiful sea life murals in their airport. :))

What are airfares like in your cities?

Completely unrelated: This gave me some much needed laughs today!

About Brenda

Mom to a preschooler with T1D. Paralegal. Swiftie. Xennial. Grizzlies and Tigers. Pilates and Peloton. Books and fanfic. 901 / 305 View all posts by Brenda →