The Science of Why Airport Prices are Higher than Street Price
Okay, picture this: You’re waiting for your plane, you're starving, and you grab a chocolate bar or a burger. You know you're paying extra, sure, but have you ever actually checked the math? Get this: that candy bar could be 120% more expensive than the exact same one at your local store. That Chili’s burger? It’s marked up 46%! Wow.
Let’s be honest: airport prices are just crazy. It's not just because they know they've got us trapped—though that's a big part of it. It's a huge lack of competition and nobody’s really enforcing the rules. You’ll see a food court with six places, but guess what? They might all be owned by one massive, multi-billion-dollar company! So, how did things get this bad? And why are some airports trying to make it even pricier?
Believe It or Not, Airports Used to Be Cool
To get why airport shopping is such a huge deal now, we've gotta rewind. Way back in the early 1900s, airports were kinda gross—overcrowded and dirty. People just focused on how awesome it was to be on the plane.
But by the middle of the century, airports figured out they needed to make cash from folks. So, they tried everything: charging for parking (which became a huge money maker!), observation decks, and even pay toilets. Some places even opened up super nice restaurants. Seriously! People would go there for anniversary dinners or even prom. The airport was a beautiful spot to hang out.
Back then, during that "Golden Age," service was great, but tickets were too pricey for most people, so not many flew. Then, 1978 hit, and everything changed.
Suddenly, Everyone Was Flying (and Waiting)
The Deregulation Act in 1978 was a game-changer. Airlines could decide their own prices and paths, making tickets way cheaper. In a decade, the number of flyers nearly doubled! Great, right? Well, kinda. They started ditching the fancy gourmet meals for sad bags of peanuts and sodas.
More importantly, people started taking connecting flights and spending way more time just hanging around the terminal. The airports were totally overwhelmed by these huge crowds. They needed a fix to keep all these waiting passengers happy.
The big idea came in the early 90s: the Air Mall. Pittsburgh International was the first U.S. airport to turn its terminal into a giant shopping center with tons of shops and places to eat. It was a massive hit! Their income shot up 75% in six years—and they didn’t even raise prices! That’s because they used street pricing: whatever it costs outside, it costs inside. Awesome!
So Much for Fair Prices
The Air Mall concept was fantastic, and other airports quickly jumped on the bandwagon, adopting street pricing to stop passengers from complaining.
But guess what? That honest street pricing is pretty much gone now. Most U.S. airports use something called "street pricing plus." That means stores can charge the regular price plus an extra 10% to 15%. They say that extra bit covers the cost of running a business inside the airport—you know, security checks, higher wages, stuff like that.
Here's the problem: that extra 10-15% is just the limit. In the real world, nobody's checking, so prices go totally wild! The markups are insane:
- M&Ms: You might pay 69% more than you would at Walgreens. Seriously!
- Yogurt: One yogurt was marked up an unbelievable 84%!
- Chicken Meal: Even a Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit meal cost over 16% more.
Sure, running an airport store is more expensive, but those huge markups—sometimes over 80%—just don't add up!
The Problem? We've Got a Monopoly!
Here’s the absolute biggest reason prices are out of control: a huge lack of competition. Almost all the food and shops in U.S. airports are run by a mere six massive companies—called concessionaires. Think of big names like Avolta (who owns HMS Host and Hudson News) and OTG.
Since these huge players are everywhere, that food court you’re looking at? All those different names? They’re probably all owned by the same company! There's no real competition in the terminal. And guess what else? These powerful corporations constantly push airports to raise or completely get rid of those pricing limits. Case in point: Phoenix, Arizona, ditched its price cap back in 2019 after the big guys asked them to. Unbelievable.
The "Wait Longer, Buy More" Game
The high prices stick around thanks to something called dwell time. After 9/11, new security checks meant passengers had to spend way more time waiting around. Studies prove it: the longer you wait, the more food and stuff you buy. Seriously, about 63% of passengers end up making a purchase!
Airports are smart about this. They actually design the terminals to make you wait and make sure you have to walk right past food and shops to get to your gate. One expert put it bluntly: their goal is to get your "saliva glands working" because that makes you buy stuff! It’s all part of the plan. Things like parking, food, and shopping now make up almost half of all the money US airports earn.
Good News! One Airport Does It Right
Must we just accept these crazy prices? Nope!
Check out Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon. It’s one of the few places that sticks to real, honest clean street pricing. Their thinking is pretty simple: if they help the businesses succeed financially, the stores won't fight the price limits.
And get this—it totally works! The average passenger at PDX spends about $15.30, which is 20% more than the national average of $12.50. This just goes to show that fair prices can actually get people to spend more overall!
It’s too bad that experts think it’ll be tough for other airports to go back to this kind of fairness after they’ve been relying on massive markups for so long.
Travelers are Finally Tapping Out
Ugh. Everything feels more expensive lately, and travelers are finally saying "enough is enough!" A 2024 survey found that people spent less money in terminals than they did the year before. And for years now, food and drink prices have been the thing people complain about the most.
Even Congress is getting involved! In May 2025, they wrote to the FTC, asking them to look into the insane markups at airports. Unless someone steps up—the government or the airport managers themselves, like PDX—you probably have just one option left: grab your favorite snack before you even get to the airport! It’ll save you way more than you realize.
About the Writer
Jenny, the tech wiz behind Jenny's Online Blog, loves diving deep into the latest technology trends, uncovering hidden gems in the gaming world, and analyzing the newest movies. When she's not glued to her screen, you might find her tinkering with gadgets or obsessing over the latest sci-fi release.What do you think of this blog? Write down at the COMMENT section below.
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