For those looking to save money on a trip, the trick is not just scoring a cheap flight but also being vigilant about what you eat and drink while you're getting to your destination.
Amid the constrained environment that leaves travelers with no way to shop around if they think $8 is too much for a bottle of water, airports are notorious for the high cost of mediocre food and drinks. A few years ago, a traveler went viral after tweeting out a photo of a Sam Adams Summer Ale Draught beer that was being sold for $27.85 at an airport while a $78 airport burger and drink started blowing up the internet last September.
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In a recent report looking at beer prices at 50 of the country's biggest airports, personal finance platform FinanaceBuzz identified New York's LaGuardia Airport as having the most expensive beer out of all the airports by far.
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An average domestic beer at LaGuardia costs $12.33 while the price drops to a respective $9.36 and $9.31 at the two other airports to make the top three — Detroit Metro Airport and Newark Liberty.
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Across the country's airports, the average domestic beer costs $7.42 while the average for the country's 10 most expensive airports rises to $8.30. By any account, LaGuardia's prices are comparatively off the cuff.
"Newark Liberty International Airport has the third-highest average beer costs in the country while John F. Kennedy International Airport has the fifth-highest prices," write the study's authors. "New York is not the only city where two area airports make the most expensive list, however. Both airports servicing Dallas, Texas, also land in the top 10."
While the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and New York's JFK land in the top five for the most expensive, Portland, Ore.'s culture of microbreweries has worked in its favor. Portland International Airport has the lowest average beer price in the country at $4.33.
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Other airports to land in the top three for the lowest beer prices include Salt Lake City International Airport ($5) and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport ($5.32.)
"Also notable on this list are two cities with reputations as party destinations," the report continues. "New Orleans, Louisiana, a.k.a. The Big Easy, comes in with the seventh most-affordable airport beer price while the bachelorette party mecca, Nashville, Tennessee, is sixth."
The report also shows that airports with the highest beer prices often also happen to be some of the country's busiest. Six of the 10 airports to top the list of ones with the highest pricing are also among the 15 busiest airports in the country and have strong beer sales numbers despite this — in large part because travelers are willing to pay it amid a lack of options.
"Anyone who's visited an airport bar knows that drinks at the airport are expensive," write the report's authors. "But despite the cost, a pre-flight drink might be worth it if you're nervous or bored waiting for your flight."
