According to a survey from online travel agent Cheapflights.com released Friday, the most affordable airport in New England is Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks.
The Web site ranked the nation’s airports based on all the searches done for flights on the site in June and averaged the prices found on flights to the most popular domestic and international destinations.
The site’s ranking for Bradley flies in the face of the convention wisdom of the past few years putting the Connecticut airport as the most expensive of the major New England Airports. The latest cost rankings from the U.S. Department of Transportation put Bradley at a cost premium compared to other regional airports.
In the Cheapflights.com ranking, Bradley had an average airfare of $361, beating out all the other New England airports and the two New York City airports. Bradley’s ranking was No. 28 overall, followed regionally by LaGuardia in New York City (No. 29), T.F. Green in Providence (No. 39), Portland International Jetport in Maine (No. 49), Manchester airport in New Hampshire (No. 59), Logan International in Boston (No. 86) and JFK International in New York City (No. 99).
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which are limited to the biggest 100 airport in the country, had a much different story for Bradley.
The federal numbers put Bradley’s average fare at $364.70, the most expensive in New England and ranked as the No. 42 most expensive airport in the country in the first quarter of 2011. Bradley was more expensive of the regional airports, ahead of airports in Portland (No. 44), LaGuardia (No. 51), Boston (No. 52), Providence (No. 66) and Manchester (No. 67).
Only JFK in New York City (No. 29) is more expensive than Bradley regionally, according to the Department of Transportation.
