Which U.S. airport is cheaper to fly to Europe?
So, I've often had debates with friends in the U.S. about the relative costs of flying to Europe from different airports in the U.S. Out of curiosity, I spent some time this morning pulling off kayak.com the best listed price in May 2007 from different major airports in the U.S. to different major airports in Europe. Keep in mind these are the best prices- most people probably end up paying more.
The two cheapest airports are both in the New York City area. This is followed, surprisingly, by Boston (I never thought of Logan as cheap!), and then Chicago and Washington (essentially tied). Cities on the west coast of course cost more than the east coas, 'cause it's farther geographically. Cities in the middle of the country actually are the most expensive, perhaps because there aren't as many people traveling internationally so the market is less competitive.
Most interesting are the patterns of where you get good deals- Miami consistently has amazing deals to Barcelona and Madrid, presumably because of the large spanish-speaking community there. There are great deals to Dublin from Boston, New York, and Chicago, which may reflect the historically high number of Irish in those cities.
All prices in US$:
