The average U.S. domestic airfare declined 8.8
percent year over year to $344 in the third quarter of 2016, according to the
Department of Transportation. The quarter also was the seventh in a row in
which the average domestic fare declined on a quarter-to-quarter basis. The
average round-trip fare in the quarter was $424, and the average domestic
one-way fare—in cases where no return trip was purchased—was $242. DOT data does
not take ancillary fees like baggage costs into account.