Northwest Arkansas fliers will find their best Denver deals this winter by departing and returning on Tuesdays, a review of airfare data showed.
FareFlightNWA earlier this week examined airfares on 28 days in December, January, February and March and learned that the average roundtrip on Tuesdays to Denver from the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport sold for $218.50. A travel booking website provided the airfare information and the review assumed travelers made a seven-day trip.
Frontier’s average round-trip fare on the four Tuesdays was $138.25, but Tuesday fares charged by Delta Air Lines ($172) and United Airlines ($180) were excellent as well.
Denver is an important wintertime destination for Northwest Arkansas travelers who fly to Colorado’s largest airport and then drive to ski destinations across the state.
In 2018, Denver was the sixth most frequent final destination for Northwest Arkansas fliers with an average of 128 people a day from the region closest to XNA flying to the city. Yet, XNA picked up only a small portion of those travelers, losing most of them to the Tulsa airport.
The number of people driving to Tulsa to fly to Denver declined markedly this year with Frontier’s arrival at XNA in June. Its three-times-a-week, low-fare flights to the Mile High City brought on competition for United. In response, United has lowered its fares to Denver.
XNA competitors American Airlines, Delta and United charge lower fares to those traveling to Denver on days when Frontier takes to the skies. That’s every Tuesday but also Thursdays and Sundays.
The most expensive flights to Denver occur on days when Frontier doesn’t fly: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The average American, Delta and United fare on each of those four days exceeds $391 roundtrip.
The average flier traveling roundtrip from XNA to Denver spent $444 in 2018, federal data shows.