Should You Fly Out of Sioux Falls, Minneapolis or Omaha?

It's one of the first things people ask me on a call. Somebody's brother-in-law found a fare out of Minneapolis that's a hundred dollars cheaper, and now they're wondering if they should be driving four hours to save it. Fair question. Here's how I look at cheap flights from Sioux Falls, and when the drive actually pays.

What the fares say

In 2023 the director of Sioux Falls Regional Airport priced the same trips to 28 popular cities out of Sioux Falls, Minneapolis and Omaha. It was an informal comparison, and he said so. Sioux Falls averaged $344 round trip. Minneapolis came in $94 lower. Omaha was only $13 lower.

So yes, Minneapolis fares usually do run lower. Omaha mostly doesn't, not by enough to matter.

That $94 is per ticket, though, and it's the fare before anything else gets added in. Which is where it gets interesting.

Source, "Airfares compared: How Sioux Falls flights stack up," SiouxFalls.Business, July 31, 2023

Is it cheaper to fly out of Minneapolis?

On the fare, often. On the trip, almost never.

Start with the drive. It's around four hours to MSP each way, more in a January storm or a Friday afternoon on 35W. Add gas both directions. Then parking for the week. Then, if your flight leaves at 6 a.m., a hotel the night before, because nobody wants to leave Sioux Falls at midnight.

Do that math for two people and a $94 savings each is gone by the time you've parked. For a family of four it can come out closer, and that's the case where I'll look harder.

There's also the part nobody prices. Eight hours of driving round trip. Coming home tired after an overnight flight and still having four hours in the car. If a connection goes sideways on the way home, you're stuck in the Twin Cities instead of in your own bed.

What about Omaha?

The fare gap is small, and Omaha's around three hours away. That combination rarely wins. Where Omaha can make sense is a specific nonstop that fits your dates when Sioux Falls only has a connection. That happens, and I'll tell you when it does.

When flying out of Sioux Falls wins

Most of the time. My clients fly out of FSD for nearly every trip I plan, because once you add it all up, the convenience is basically free. Short security lines, parking you can walk from, and you're home twenty minutes after you land.

Sioux Falls also connects through the big hubs, so for Europe or Hawaii you're making one connection either way. You just make it in Denver, Chicago, Dallas or Minneapolis instead of starting there.

When I'll tell you to drive

I don't assume. I check your dates both ways and show you the numbers. A few times it does tip the other way.

• A big family where the per-ticket savings multiply
• A long-haul nonstop, like Minneapolis to Europe, that saves you a connection and a long day
• Holiday weeks when Sioux Falls seats are thin and the fares spike

When that's the case, I build the drive into the plan. Hotel near the airport, parking booked, a flight time that doesn't have you leaving home at 2 a.m.

How I handle your flights

When I plan your trip, flights are part of it. I look at Sioux Falls first, check the hubs against it, and tell you which one wins and why. I watch seat maps, I pay attention to connection times, and if a flight cancels while you're traveling, you call me, not a hold line.

If you're weighing a trip and want the honest math on where to fly from, that's an easy thing to cover on a 30-minute call.