There are fun expenses tied to every vacation you fly to – a souvenir T-shirt, a fancy dinner, or even a poolside cabana rental – but you’ll have to raise a fortune to keep your car on during your absence Parking at your home airport is not one of them.
According to Alex Miller, founder and CEO of the travel website Upgraded Points, travelers departing from major US airports can often expect high hourly and daily rates in on-site parking lots and even in private parking lots nearby.
“Airport parking rates have been pretty insane lately,” Miller said. For example, Upgraded Points found that the average daily rate at Boston’s Logan International Airport is a whopping $ 21.76 – the highest in the country. “Airport parking can sometimes be very, very expensive and the fees add up quickly.”
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However, there are some places where the tab isn’t all that bad. Upgraded Points looked at the average prices and customer ratings for airfields across the country and compiled a list of the 10 cheapest parking spots.
The cheapest is Denver International Airport, where the average daily price for parking is just $ 2.50, despite being the third busiest airport in the country in 2020, according to the website. Upgraded Points officials said they suspect Denver airport officials are keeping parking fees down to attract more travelers.
The next cheapest airport for parking is Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, where the average daily rate is $ 3 more at $ 5.50, followed by international airports in Jacksonville, Florida; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Tampa, Florida; San Antonio; Memphis, Tennessee; Milwaukee; and Miami; and Dallas Love Field.
(Upgraded Points also analyzed online parking lot ratings from lottery customers on a scale of 1 to 5. All facilities in the top 10 list were rated over 4 – except for Milwaukee, which scored 3.7 out of 5.)
Overall, airport parking fees are rising at airports across the country, Miller said as price and parking cuts from the pandemic era now lead to higher demand and higher costs as air traffic recovers. “Airports offered discounted parking fees to park in more premium parking spaces or offered coupons for on-site parking,” he said after closing many long-term parks due to reduced passenger numbers.
Now prices are rising, but the space is not necessarily keeping up. “Most parking lots structure their prices based on the hours or days you park, not necessarily on a daily fluctuation in demand,” said Miller.
Train to the plane
Freemixer | E + | Getty Images
If you’re flying into Logan or any other major airport with sky-high parking fees, taxi / rideshare services or public transportation may be a better option. In fact, flight delays and cancellations can add to the already expensive parking fees at the airport.
“I prefer to get to the airport by public transport,” says Miller. “If you can get to the airport by train or rail, it is generally the most reliable, although buses and ridesharing also work fine and are a one-off cost as opposed to costs that add up over time, which is what happens when you park at the airport the case is that loads over time. “
In Boston, for example, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority offers a free Silver Line S1 bus service between the city’s South Station transit terminal and Logan International from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. seven days a week. In addition, the MBTA offers free shuttles to Logan from ferries (prices $ 3.70 to $ 9.75 one way) and the Blue Line airport station ($ 2.40 one way) at similar times.
Not in the mood for shuttles? Either way, you’re out of luck, Miller said. “Most airports require a shuttle or some other form of transport to the on-site parking lots, which is more or less the same as using public transport and the time it takes to get to and from the airport.”
Upgraded Points analyzed airport parking data from July 1 to July 7, 2021 on AirportParking.com and took the average of the five most popular parking spaces to calculate its ranking.
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