Grand Rapids airfares going down

The average airfare to fly out of the Gerald R. Ford International Airport dropped $9.50 in the third quarter of 2011, compared to the previous three months, according to an announcement this morning by the Regional Air Alliance of West Michigan.

Citing new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics, RAAWM said average domestic round-trip airfares at Ford International Airport dropped 2.3 percent from $407.34 in the second quarter of 2011 to $397.84 in the third quarter. RAAWM noted that airfares at Detroit Metropolitan Airport fell only 1.6 percent during the same period.

“The unified effort of the private and public sectors to address airfares and air service at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport continues to pay dividends for our region,” said Dan Wiersma, executive director of RAWWM. “Coupled with the recent announcement that Southwest Airlines will serve our region, this data is more proof of our progress to ensure West Michigan receives ‘best in class’ commercial air service.”

In the second quarter of 2009, Ford International Airport was the second-most expensive of the nation’s largest 100 airports. By the third quarter of 2011, that ranking had improved to No. 25, according to RAWWM.

RAWWM, chaired by businessman Dick DeVos, helped attract low-cost carrier AirTran to Grand Rapids in 2010, and worked to convince Southwest Airlines to continue to fly from the airport after it acquired AirTran last May. Southwest announced Jan. 20 that Grand Rapids was among the AirTran markets it will continue to serve.

Although it has been dropping, it cost $18.75 more to fly from Grand Rapids during the third quarter than the average airfare at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and $26.88 more than the average airfare at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.