The Cheapest Airports To Fly Out of for Domestic Flights

Key takeaways

• Going analyzed more than 45,000 routes and a full year of deal data (July 2025–June 2026) to rank the best and worst US airports for domestic flight deals.
• Denver took the top spot, fueled by consistent head-to-head fare wars between United, Southwest, and Frontier for the same passengers.
• Florida airports dominate the best list (Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa), where high leisure demand and a crowded field of budget carriers keep fares low year-round.
• "Fortress hubs" and capacity-capped airports rank among the worst (e.g., Charlotte, Santa Ana), as a single dominant carrier or a hard cap on flights limits the competition that drives prices down.
• The Alaska-Hawaiian merger reshaped Hawaii's rankings, with Honolulu and Maui landing near the bottom, as consolidated carrier control pulled competition and available deals down.
• A "worst" airport doesn't mean it doesn't have deals to offer. You might just have to check a bigger nearby hub (like LAX instead of Santa Ana, or Denver instead of Albuquerque) to find better fares more often. 

Spirit collapsed this year. Southwest ditched open seating and started charging for bags. Basic economy kept finding new ways to get more basic. If you're keeping score of everything that made US flying cheap, the list looks like it's shrinking fast.

But allow us to sprinkle a little flight-deal fairy dust on these bad vibes. In this year’s top-10 ranking of best airports for domestic flight deals, the best of the best saw close to three deals a week on average over the past 12 months. Affordable domestic fares aren’t disappearing. They’re just concentrating in airports where airlines are still willing to bust out a good old-fashioned fare war for your business. Here’s the need-to-know before we get into the specifics.

→ Related reading: Going 2026 State of Travel & Flight Deals 

Best US airports for domestic flight deals

1. Denver (DEN)
2. New Orleans (MSY)
3. Orlando (MCO)
4. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL)
5. Los Angeles (LAX)
6. Charleston (CHS)
7. Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
8. Tampa (TPA)
9. Portland (PDX)
10. Las Vegas (LAS)

Worst US airports for domestic flight deals

1. Honolulu (HNL)
2. Kahului (OGG)
3. Anchorage (ANC)
4. Omaha (OMA)
5. Milwaukee (MKE)
6. Buffalo (BUF)
7. Albuquerque (ABQ)
8. Baltimore (BWI)
9. Charlotte (CLT)
10. Santa Ana (SNA)

Like last year, three Florida airports landed on the best list this year, though an up-and-comer booted one mainstay from the list entirely. Tampa's reign at #1 gave way to Denver, where those aforementioned fare wars frequently came to a head. In fact, that's the throughline for this whole list. The airports winning right now aren't necessarily the biggest or the busiest. They're the ones where a few carriers are trying to out-discount each other, with a bit of added chaos from low-cost carriers who force fares lower. 

We pulled in every airport the FAA classified as medium or large in 2025 based on passenger volume. And instead of our usual way of ranking by deal count, we built a weighted system that factors in deal count, average Going deal price, and savings off the normal price. The result is a list that rewards airports providing value to travelers across several important factors.

Here are the 2026 rankings.  

10. Las Vegas (LAS)

Average Going price: $201 roundtrip
Number of deals: 113

Las Vegas remains one of the busiest airports in the US and a magnet for low fares, thanks to a heavy presence of low-cost and ultra-low-cost carriers. Southwest is still the largest airline here, with Allegiant, Frontier, Sun Country, and Avelo all running routes alongside full-service carriers like Delta, American, United, and Alaska. Spirit's 2026 collapse is the one notable name missing this year, though the other budget carriers are working to absorb the capacity it left behind.

LAS offers nonstop flights to more than 100 US destinations, and because so many airlines are competing for the same leisure-focused travelers, fares drop often, especially on off-peak travel days. Add in Las Vegas's steady year-round demand, and it's no surprise the airport keeps landing on this list.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Las Vegas:

• Las Vegas to Provo for $60 roundtrip (sent June 2026)
• Las Vegas to Seattle for $97 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• Las Vegas to New Orleans for $123 roundtrip (sent March 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Las Vegas

9. Portland (PDX)

Average Going price: $226 roundtrip
Number of deals: 130

Portland has got Alaska Airlines to thank for landing it a spot on this list. Alaska treats Portland like home turf, running routes to a long list of destinations on the West Coast and beyond, and it isn't shy about dropping prices frequently to fill those planes. When one airline runs that much of the show and still competes hard on price, it pulls the whole market down with it.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Portland:

• Portland to Denver for $115 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• Portland to San Diego for $131 roundtrip (sent April 2026)
• Portland to Baltimore for $154 roundtrip (sent April 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Portland

8. Tampa (TPA)

Average Going price: $216 roundtrip
Number of deals: 143

Tampa rides the same wave as Florida's other major airports, three of which land on this year's best list. Southwest has a major presence at TPA, and Frontier, Avelo, and Breeze all operate routes alongside Delta, American, United, and Alaska, adding up to 90+ nonstop domestic destinations. That kind of diverse airline lineup, on top of the leisure-driven capacity that benefits Florida's airports generally, keeps prices competitive year-round. 

Spirit's collapse removed a major incentive for full-service carriers to keep fares this low to and from Florida, so the jury’s out whether a ranking holds for Tampa next year.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Tampa:

• Tampa to Charleston for $88 roundtrip (sent April 2026)
• Tampa to Bangor for $108 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Tampa to Chicago for $155 roundtrip (sent April 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Tampa

7. Raleigh-Durham (RDU)

Average Going price: $217 roundtrip
Number of deals: 137

Unlike most mid-sized airports, which lean on one dominant carrier, RDU likes keeping those airlines on their tippy toes. Delta and American are running within a couple of percentage points of each other for the top spot, and Breeze Airways has muscled in as a fourth option (Southwest is up there with them). In fact, Breeze now flies more unique nonstop routes out of RDU than any legacy carrier does. All that competition means one thing: reliable flight deals.

Raleigh, you’ve got our attention. 

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Raleigh:

• Raleigh to Orlando for $78 roundtrip (sent June 2026)
• Raleigh to Las Vegas for $137 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Raleigh to San Diego for $157 roundtrip (sent March 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Raleigh

6. Charleston (CHS)

Average Going price: $167 roundtrip
Number of deals: 115

Breeze runs a lot of routes out of CHS, as it's the airline's largest operational base. All the major US carriers maintain consistent service, at least to their own hubs, but Breeze offers frequent fare sales to peripheral cities, particularly throughout the Eastern US. Long story short: The bigger airlines have to keep dropping prices just to stay competitive, and we’re not complaining about it. 

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Charleston:

• Charleston to Fort Lauderdale for $98 roundtrip (sent March 2026)
• Charleston to Providence for $108 roundtrip (sent April 2026)
• Charleston to Portland for $128 roundtrip (sent April 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Charleston

5. Los Angeles (LAX)

Average Going price: $208 roundtrip
Number of deals: 136

LAX is LAX. The great part about LAX is that it doesn't just benefit from an abundance of cheap flights pouring in westward from the Rockies. High competition among the big three legacy carriers plus JetBlue also means regular sub-$200 roundtrip coast-to-coast fares. All four of those airlines fly between LAX and the NYC metro area, so competition (and deals worth booking) on that route alone stays high pretty almost constantly.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from LA:

• LA to Seattle for $97 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• LA to Denver for $117 roundtrip (sent June 2026)
• LA to New York City for $154 roundtrip (sent April 2026)

→ See cheap flights from LA

4. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL)

Average Going price: $219 roundtrip
Number of deals: 135

Same Florida story as Tampa and Orlando (spoiler! MCO is #3): High capacity to and from Florida airports thanks to their leisure pull and a crowded field of budget carriers keeps fares down. Spirit’s exit hasn’t quite impacted FLL in the way it has for other airports on this list—FLL’s rise was one of the factors that booted Miami from this year’s ranking entirely, after all. But who’s to say the tides won’t shift next year? Watch this space.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Fort Lauderdale:

• Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta for $59 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Fort Lauderdale to Washington, DC, for $97 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Fort Lauderdale to Austin for $101 roundtrip (sent February 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Fort Lauderdale

3. Orlando (MCO)

Average Going price: $211 roundtrip
Number of deals: 146

Orlando's fares are low precisely because it's a leisure destination. Those planes fly in both directions, and the increased capacity and competition to capture theme-park-bound demand results in great deals for locals, too. 

Over the past decade, Orlando has become one of the country's biggest playgrounds for low-cost airlines. JetBlue and Southwest have long-standing service, and MCO is also a major base for Frontier, Avelo, and Breeze, adding up to 100+ nonstop domestic destinations. With Spirit out of the picture, a crucial incentive for full-service carriers to keep Florida fares low—you guessed it—next year's story might look a bit different for Orlando. 

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Orlando:

• Orlando to Raleigh for $78 roundtrip (sent March 2026)
• Orlando to Chicago for $157 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Orlando to Portland, Oregon, for $158 roundtrip (sent January 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Orlando

2. New Orleans (MSY)

Average Going price: $228 roundtrip
Number of deals: 166

New Orleans keeps it simple. It has benefited from increased competition between Southwest and Breeze, the latter of which has been pushing hard on service there for a while. Add accelerated domestic demand for one of the country's most popular vacation spots on top of that, and it's a reliable formula for cheap flights. 

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from New Orleans:

• New Orleans to Nashville for $97 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• New Orleans to Savannah for $118 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• New Orleans to Los Angeles for $138 roundtrip (sent January 2026)

→ See cheap flights from New Orleans

1. Denver (DEN)

Average Going price: $219 roundtrip
Number of deals: 150

Not too much mystery here. It's a story of competition between United and Southwest versus Frontier. The big guys run frequent sales to outduel one another for non-budget-carrier passengers, and their fares get listed right alongside Frontier's on booking sites. 

Denver's central location works in travelers' favor here, too. As the third-busiest airport in the US with nonstop service to more than 200 destinations, it's a key connection point between the coasts, which only adds to the competitive pressure. And, friends, that head-to-head pricing fight is exactly why Denver has earned the top spot this year.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Denver:

• Denver to San Diego for $97 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• Denver to Boston for $133 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Denver to Austin for $171 roundtrip (sent June 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Denver

The worst US airports for cheap domestic flights

10. Santa Ana (SNA)

Average Going price: $248 roundtrip
Number of deals: 71

John Wayne Airport has operated for decades under a strict noise-based settlement agreement that caps how many flights carriers are allowed to run each day (and how large those planes can be). That kind of ceiling on capacity works against the thing that drives fares down. It limits how much airlines can compete for the same passengers, no matter how affluent the surrounding Orange County market may be. 

LAX is less than an hour up the road and lands at #5 on this year's best list. For domestic deals, it's worth the drive.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Santa Ana:

• Santa Ana to Seattle for $97 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• Santa Ana to Denver for $157 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Santa Ana to Washington, DC, for $177 roundtrip (sent April 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Santa Ana

9. Charlotte (CLT)

Average Going price: $237 roundtrip
Number of deals: 62 

Charlotte is one of the most extreme "fortress hubs" in the country. American Airlines controls somewhere around 90% of CLT's flights. When one carrier holds that much of the airport, there's very little room for competing airlines to force fares down, regardless of how much overall traffic moves through. 

Atlanta (ATL), while also a hub, only for Delta Air Lines, sees more deals than Charlotte. It’s less than four hours away by car and offers more competition across airlines, so it could be worth the drive if you're chasing a certain domestic deal.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Charlotte:

• Charlotte to Fort Lauderdale for $159 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• Charlotte to Chicago for $173 roundtrip (sent June 2026)
• Charlotte to Albuquerque for $187 roundtrip (sent June 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Charlotte

8. Baltimore (BWI)

Average Going price: $258 roundtrip
Number of deals: 76 

This one's a bit counterintuitive. Southwest handles about 70% of BWI's traffic, and Southwest is known for keeping its everyday fares competitive by default. That's normally great for travelers, but it makes it harder for a "deal" to stand out. When the baseline is already low, there's less room for a fare to swing dramatically further below it, so BWI shows up here with fewer standout deals despite being a decently budget-friendly airport day-to-day. 

It's worth widening your search to nearby Washington National (DCA) or Dulles (IAD) as well, both within an hour's drive, for more flight deal options. 

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Baltimore:

• Baltimore to Boston for $109 roundtrip (sent June 2026)
• Baltimore to Seattle for $127 roundtrip (sent April 2026)
• Baltimore to Chicago for $177 roundtrip (sent March 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Baltimore

7. Albuquerque (ABQ)

Average Going price: $294 roundtrip
Number of deals: 77 

Southwest has been ABQ's largest carrier since it arrived in 1980 and still carries roughly half the airport's passengers today, with every other major airline showing up too. Unfortunately, the issue is scale. ABQ only supports nonstop service to a modest list of destinations, and a smaller metro population means there's a smaller overall pool of flights for good fares to surface from, even with decent competition in the mix. Denver (DEN), this year's #1 airport for domestic deals, is a short flight away and worth checking for a bigger selection, especially if you’re flying long-haul.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Albuquerque:

• Albuquerque to Las Vegas for $97 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Albuquerque to New York City for $149 roundtrip (sent June 2026)
• Albuquerque to Portland for $166 roundtrip (sent February 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Albuquerque

6. Buffalo (BUF)

Average Going price: $247 roundtrip
Number of deals: 71 

Buffalo is a paradox. It's a Southwest focus city, every major carrier flies there, and it even pulls in extra demand from Canadians crossing the border to dodge Toronto's higher fares and fees, all making for solid competition. But Buffalo Niagara is still a mid-sized market with a capped route network, so even healthy competition can only generate so much volume. The average discount here holds its own amidst the bigger players, but the sheer lack of volume drags it down in the ranking. 

There's no bigger US airport close enough to make a serious difference here, so this one mostly comes down to patience and flexible dates.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Buffalo:

• Buffalo to Atlanta for $139 roundtrip (sent June 2026)
• Buffalo to Nashville for $159 roundtrip (sent April 2026)
• Buffalo to Portland for $172 roundtrip (sent March 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Buffalo

5. Milwaukee (MKE)

Average Going price: $306 roundtrip
Number of deals: 87 

Buffalo is in good company with Milwaukee. It's a Southwest focus city with budget-carrier competition from Frontier and Allegiant stacked on top of the legacy carriers. But Milwaukee's metro area is still a modest-sized market, and that caps how many total flights (and therefore deals) the airport can produce, even when the ones that do show up are well-discounted. 

Chicago O'Hare (ORD) is about 90 minutes south and offers a much deeper bench of carriers and routes if you're willing to make the drive.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Milwaukee:

• Milwaukee to Las Vegas for $139 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• Milwaukee to Seattle for $177 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• Milwaukee to New York City for $176 roundtrip (sent June 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Milwaukee

4. Omaha (OMA)

Average Going price: $309 roundtrip
Number of deals: 79 

Omaha is served by all the major domestic carriers, but it doesn't have the kind of disruptive low-cost presence that shakes up pricing at some of the other airports on this list. Combine that with a modest metro population and an overall flight volume that stays pretty capped. 

It's worth comparing fares from Kansas City or Denver if your dates are flexible enough to make the extra drive.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Omaha:

• Omaha to Denver for $97 roundtrip (sent March 2026)
• Omaha to Fort Lauderdale for $161 roundtrip (sent April 2026)
• Omaha to Seattle for $165 roundtrip (sent January 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Omaha

3. Anchorage (ANC)

Average Going price: $363 roundtrip
Number of deals: 85

Anchorage is Alaska Airlines' namesake turf, and the carrier dominates the routes connecting the state to the Lower 48. One airline controlling that much of the market means less price competition overall. The silver lining: It also means Alaska's everyday fares run higher than a more competitive market would allow, so when a real discount does show up, it's a big one. 

There's no real alternative airport to route around in this market, so your best bet is watching for Alaska Airlines' own periodic sales.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Anchorage:

• Anchorage to Phoenix for $246 roundtrip (sent February 2026)
• Anchorage to Boston for $337 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Anchorage to Miami for $343 roundtrip (sent June 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Anchorage

2. Kahului (OGG)

Average Going price: $352 roundtrip
Number of deals: 42 

Maui's numbers reflect a broader shift across all of Hawaii's airports this year. Alaska Airlines' acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines consolidated the two carriers that used to compete hardest for mainland-to-Hawaii traffic, and OGG's small, single-island market didn't have much other competition to fall back on in the first place. 

Comparing fares through Honolulu (HNL) as a connection point is worth doing, though given HNL's own numbers this year, don't expect it to be dramatically cheaper.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Maui:

• Maui to Seattle for $199 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Maui to San Francisco for $257 roundtrip (sent March 2026)
• Maui to New York City for $378 roundtrip (sent January 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Maui

1. Honolulu (HNL)

Average Going price: $346 roundtrip
Number of deals: 36

Honolulu takes the bottom spot this year, and similar to Maui, the timing lines up with the Alaska-Hawaiian merger. Alaska now controls more than 40% of continental US-to-Hawaii routes. Previously, passengers sued to unwind the deal, but a federal judge has dismissed the case twice. In other words, don't expect a legal reversal to bring competition (or fares) back down anytime soon. 

For now, HNL's numbers reflect a less competitive market than a year ago, and that looks like the new normal.

Deals we've recently flagged for Going members from Honolulu:

• Honolulu to Seattle for $199 roundtrip (sent January 2026)
• Honolulu to Los Angeles for $297 roundtrip (sent June 2026)
• Honolulu to Colorado Springs for $371 roundtrip (sent March 2026)

→ See cheap flights from Honolulu

Methodology

Going analyzed more than 45,000 routes across US airports that were sent as Going deals between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, to develop rankings for the top US airports to fly from domestically and internationally. A fare is deemed a "deal" when it meets the standards set out by the Going Grade, our proprietary scoring system that ranks each fare against the historic pricing for that specific route, with top-scoring deals falling multiple standard deviations below the route's average price. Airport rankings are based on a weighted score factoring in average price (30%), average deal savings on full-service airlines (35%), and deal volume (35%), giving a fuller picture of where travelers found the best combination of frequency and savings. Airport lists are based on FAA enplanement data, which classifies airports into hub-size categories. This list represents large and medium-sized hubs. 

Resources for booking cheap flights

• How to use Google Flights
• How to find cheap flights
• Best time to book a flight
• When do flight prices drop
• Mistake fares: What are they, and how do you book them?