Fare survey shows that PTI has more low fares when you book 39 days out
Piedmont Triad – If you book your flight early from Piedmont Triad International Airport, chances are you will get a better fare than you would get at Raleigh or Charlotte.
A fare comparison conducted by the airport shows that in a survey of 25 top destinations, PTI has the lowest fare to 11 of those destinations compared to fares at Raleigh-Durham Airport and Charlotte Douglas Municipal Airport for flights booked at least 39 days in advance. By comparison, in the fare survey at 39 days out, Raleigh-Durham had five of the lowest fares while Charlotte had nine.
“This means that if passengers book a flight from PTI at least 39 days in advance, our fares are very competitive with Raleigh and Charlotte,” Baker told the Airport Authority. “In fact, 39 days out we have the lowest fares of the three airports to nearly half of the 25 destinations that we surveyed.”
The destinations in the survey included cities with non-stop service from PTI such as Dallas, Miami, Chicago, Washington, DC, New York, Denver, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Orlando. It also included one-stop destinations such as San Francisco, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Boston. The first flight of the day was used to make the comparisons.
Booking early is the key. The survey showed that PTI was less competitive when looking at fares seven and 21 days into the future.
“For local passengers, the lesson here is to book early,” Baker said. “We are by far the easiest and most convenient airport for Piedmont Triad passengers to use. If passengers book early, in many cases we are also the most affordable.”