On average, fares in June will cost $29 more at Logan, compared with the same month last year — about $10 more than the national increase, according to the travel site FareCompare.com. But that won’t be enough to push Boston’s relatively low rates higher than what’s available in most other markets.
“They’re doing a little bit of catch-up, but they’re still well behind the rest of the country,’’ said Rick Seaney, who is chief executive of FareCompare.com.
Boston flights will average $318 round-trip, or nearly $50 less per flight than the national average, in large part because of the expansion of low-cost carriers here.
The change in Boston comes after several years of shrinking capacity, measured by the number of seats per total miles flown.
There was virtually no growth at Logan from June 2009 to June 2010, and capacity shrank by almost 3 percent the year before, according to the Air Transport Association, the airline industry trade group. Cities like Boston that don’t serve as airline hubs have taken a hit as beleaguered carriers have pulled back flights to concentrate on their hubs.
But Boston has come back stronger than most this year. The only airports experiencing more growth are Chicago Midway, Fort Lauderdale, and Phoenix, according to the OAG.
“There are many communities out there doing anything and everything just to retain what they have,’’ said a Massachusetts Institute of Technology airline researcher, William Swelbar. “Boston really is unique relative to other airports.’’
One of the main reasons for Logan’s capacity growth is the entrance and expansion of low-fare carriers such as JetBlue and Southwest. The airlines not only increased the number of destinations served, but drove down fares. When Southwest announced it would start flying between Boston and Philadelphia for $118 round-trip, for instance, US Airways dropped its $1,100 fare to match.
New York-based JetBlue has led the way: The airline has become the busiest airline at Logan, carrying more passengers and flying to twice as many nonstop destinations as any other carrier in Boston.
