It's getting more expensive to fly in Minnesota

Minnesota saw largest airfare price bump

Ticket prices across the country have risen in recent years, but flights out of the Twin Cities have seen the biggest bump.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Patty Stensrud used to fly three out of every four weeks for work, but lately, she's only been traveling once a month because of the rising cost of airline tickets.

"I just booked my vacation out of here, and it was almost triple what I paid last year. I have in-laws in Arizona and California, which we go visit every year. Now we're doing a lot of Teams meetings with family as well," said Stensrud.

According to USA Today, the average airfare at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was $422 in 2023, up $136 from 2021. That 48 percent increase was the highest percentage of any airport in the country.

"There's no question that fliers based out of Minneapolis tend to pay some higher airfare," said Kyle Potter of Thrifty Traveler

Potter says Delta's dominance in the market is one of the reasons travelers at MSP pay more.

He says with at least 70 percent of the seats flying out of the airport, Delta can charge a premium for tickets and often does.

"Airfare in particular is all about competition and Delta has a stranglehold on Minneapolis," said Potter.

On the flip side, Potter says being a Delta hub means more destinations, more frequent flights and more non-stop options are available to local travelers. But Stensrud says those benefits don't make up for higher prices.

"People want to be face to face and raising your prices like this just makes it too hard on people. Hoping they'll figure it out," said Stensrud.