What Are the Best Airlines and Airports for Cheap Flights?
Key takeaways
Denver (DEN) is the #1 US airport for domestic flight deals in 2026, unseating Tampa, with an average Going deal price of $219 roundtrip across 150 deals.
Boston (BOS) is the #1 US airport for international flight deals in 2026, overtaking JFK, with an average deal price of $451 roundtrip across 415 deals.
JFK (New York) remains the #1 US airport for points and miles deals, holding the top spot for a second year, driven by high-value redemptions on Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Emirates.
<a t limited to coastal hub airports.
Chicago O’Hare (ORD) is the Going members’ favorite airport for international deals.
Rankings are based on a weighted methodology: 35% deal volume, 35% average savings off normal fare, and 30% average deal price. Data covers more than 45,000 routes analyzed from Going deals sent between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.
The Going 2026 Top Airports & Airlines for Flight Deals is an annual ranking of the US airports and airlines delivering the best flight deals, based on a full year of data across thousands of routes.
It has been a challenging year for those tracking airfare. Average prices have climbed steadily since late 2025, the spring brought an uncomfortable spike, and the summer price panic—while not entirely new—had many travelers questioning if they could afford to go anywhere at all. These awards aren’t intended to suggest that <a t disappear; they simply concentrated in fewer, more predictable locations.
In 2026, we updated our criteria for crowning the winners. Previously, an airport’s ranking was determined by a single factor: the number of deals sent from that location. While that is a valid way to evaluate airports, it overlooks those where the available deals offer exceptionally deep discounts, even if they appear less frequently.
Consequently, we developed a weighted system this year that incorporates deal volume, average Going deal price, and savings compared to typical fares. This approach produced a list of winners that might not have qualified under our previous criteria. While some long-standing favorites remain, several airports earned their spots because this new methodology captured value that simple deal counts previously missed.
Here are the award categories for 2026.
Top US airports for domestic flight deals
Top US airports for international flight deals
Top US airports for points and miles deals
Top US airlines for domestic flight deals
Top US airlines for international flight deals
Members’ Choice: Top US airports for flight deals
Top airports for domestic flight deals
Following Tampa’s reign at #1 last year, Denver secured the top spot this year, bolstered by fare wars that kept prices competitive. For the second consecutive year, three Florida airports placed in the top ten, though Fort Lauderdale surpassed Miami in the domestic rankings. The collapse of Spirit Airlines caused a significant shift, as airports navigated the impact of losing a budget carrier from their schedules. While some airports, such as Las Vegas, maintained their top-10 status, the landscape could shift again in 2027. Here are the winners for 2026.
Large and medium airports
Rank
Airport
Average Going deal (roundtrip)
Number of deals
1
Denver (DEN)
$219
150
2
New Orleans (MSY)
$228
166
3
Orlando (MCO)
$211
146
4
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL)
$219
135
5
Los Angeles (LAX)
$208
136
6
Charleston (CHS)
$167
115
7
Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
$217
137
8
Tampa (TPA)
$216
143
9
Portland (PDX)
$226
130
10
Las Vegas (LAS)
$201
113
Small airports
1
Akron-Canton (CAK)
$135
52
2
West Palm Beach (DJT)
$171
71
3
Providence (PVD)
$212
83
4
Wilmington (ILM)
$152
57
5
Savannah (SAV)
$192
70
We conducted a thorough analysis of the top 10 airports for domestic flight deals, as well as the least favorable ones. To learn more about why these locations made the list and how to improve your chances of booking a great domestic deal, click here.
Top airports for international flight deals
Boston claimed the #1 spot for international deals this year, marking a significant change from JFK. However, JFK and Newark combined continue to establish the New York metro area as a major international hub. Additionally, Raleigh-Durham and Austin are new additions to the international top-ten list, proving that you do not need to be near a coastal mega-hub to find excellent international pricing.
1
Boston (BOS)
$451
415
2
New York City (JFK)
$445
404
3
Newark (EWR)
$450
333
4
Chicago (ORD)
$487
354
5
Los Angeles (LAX)
$524
364
6
Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
$448
300
7
Orlando (MCO)
$472
317
8
Miami (MIA)
$467
304
9
Washington, DC (IAD)
$472
300
10
Austin (AUS)
$475
301
Small airports
1
Syracuse (SYR)
$436
211
2
Rochester (ROC)
$435
208
3
Providence (PVD)
$427
202
4
Westchester County (HPN)
$416
171
5
Burlington (BTV)
$431
176
We have also examined the best and worst airports for international flight deals. Our experts explain why these specific airports earned their rankings and how you can capitalize on their available deals. Read the full details here.
Best airports for points & miles deals
JFK maintained its lead for points and miles deals for another year, offering high-value redemptions on Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Emirates. The most notable change is Miami, which entered the top ten for the first time, displacing last year’s #10, Newark. Miami’s success is attributed to strong Iberia availability to Spain, a wide range of Latin American and Caribbean redemptions, and the highest concentration of business-class deals of any airport on the list.
Here is a summary of each airport’s top points-and-miles characteristics, as identified by a Going flight expert.
Rank
Airport
Number of deals
Strengths
1
New York City (JFK)
95
High-value redemptions on Singapore, Cathay Pacific, and Emirates
2
Boston (BOS)
69
Strong award space to Europe on carriers such as Iberia, Air France/KLM, Swiss, Aer Lingus, and Virgin Atlantic
3
Los Angeles (LAX)
63
Good repositioning hub for award flights to Australia
4
Chicago (ORD)
62
Occasional rare first-class award space to Tokyo
5
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
55
Great for Qatar Airways Qsuites and JAL premium cabin awards
6
Seattle-Tacoma (SEA)
52
Occasional rare first class award space to Tokyo
7
San Francisco (SFO)
46
Strong award space to Europe, and the only US airport to have a direct flight to Vietnam
8
Washington, DC (IAD)
42
Strong award space to Europe
9
Atlanta (ATL)
38
Strong award space to Europe
10
Miami (MIA)
35
Strong availability to Spain on Iberia, high concentration of business-class deals, and strong coverage throughout Latin America and the Caribbean
Top airlines for domestic flight deals
This list is limited to full-service US carriers. Going typically focuses on deals from major airlines and does not feature bare-bones budget fares unless the price is exceptionally compelling.
However, budget carriers were still active this year. Breeze and Avelo, in particular, performed well, contributing to the lower fares seen at many of the winning airports, including Charleston, Raleigh, New Orleans, and the Florida hubs. Increased competition from budget carriers often forces full-service airlines to lower their own prices.
Rank
Airline
Number of deals
1
American Airlines
646
2
Delta Air Lines
609
3
Southwest Airlines
594
4
United Airlines
576
5
Alaska Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines
515
Top airlines for international flight deals
United, American, and Delta occupy the top three positions by volume, as expected from the largest US carriers. Further down the list, however, the trends are more notable: Air Canada’s European expansion and aggressive Caribbean fare sales.
Rank
Airport
Number of deals
1
United Airlines
1850
2
American Airlines
1820
3
Delta Air Lines
1717
4
Air Canada
533
5
British Airways
533
9
Air France
286
Air Canada Premium Economy Review + Full Guide (2026)
Air Canada Business Class Review: Worth the Upgrade?
The Complete Guide to British Airways First Class
British Airways Premium Economy: Honest <a s Like to Fly Iberia Business Class
Air France Business Class Review: What I Wish I Knew Before Flying
Air France Premium Economy: Is It Really Worth It?
Icelandair Saga Class: Business Class Review and Upgrades (2026)
Members’ Choice: Top airports for flight deals
While most of this year’s winners are based on objective deal data, this category is the exception. We surveyed Going members to identify their favorite US airports for flight deals. Between July 21 and August 2, 2026, we polled members for international deals from this year’s top 10. Here are the results
Rank
Airport
Percentage of votes
1
Chicago (ORD)
17.93%
2
Los Angeles (LAX)
17.51%
3
New York City (JFK)
12.26%
4
Washington, DC (IAD)
10.44%
5
Orlando (MCO)
8.58%
6
Austin (AUS)
8.54%
7
Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
7.70%
8
Boston (BOS)
6.34%
9
Newark (EWR)
6.17%
10
Miami (MIA)
4.52%
Methodology
Going analyzed over 45,000 routes across US airports that were featured as Going deals between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, to determine the rankings for the best US airports for domestic and international travel. A fare is classified as a “deal” when it meets the criteria of the Going Grade, our proprietary system that compares each fare against historical pricing for that route, with top-tier deals falling significantly below the average price. Airport rankings are determined by a weighted score that considers average price (30%), average deal savings on full-service airlines (35%), and deal volume (35%), providing a comprehensive view of where travelers find the best balance of frequency and savings. Airport lists are categorized by hub size using FAA enplanement data. Hawaii and Alaska airports are included in the domestic rankings.
The Top Airlines and Top Airports for Points & Miles Deals rankings are determined solely by deal frequency. The Top Airlines list is based on the number of deals sent for full-service US carriers (domestic) and full-service US and international carriers (international). Budget airlines like Breeze and Avelo were excluded to ensure a direct comparison among legacy and full-service carriers. The Top Airports for Points & Miles Deals ranking is based on the volume of points and miles deals sent from each airport.
The Members’ Choice category is based on a poll of Going members conducted in the app from July 21 to August 2, 2026, where members voted for their favorite airport for international deals among the top 10. The poll received 2,365 responses.