It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that airline fares have been rising, but it should help when some MIT dons put it in perspective for us, so we salute MIT's International Center for Air Transportation for trying to do that in a recent report on airline pricing trends.
According to authors Michael Wittman and William Swelbar, average domestic one-way fares, adjusted for inflation, rose 8.7% at the nation's 29 largest airports between 2007 and 2012, and were up 11.9% at 35 other mid-size points.
So now we know.
Of course, the authors acknowledge that these averages reflect all fares, including first and business class, for routes of all mileages, and exclude ancillary fees.
So maybe we don't.