It’s that sticker shock we all feel at the airport. You forget to pack your phone charger, your kids want a snack, and you need a bottle of water and a coffee to get through the day. But when you swipe your card, you’re stunned by the sky-high price you’re paying.
At Pittsburgh International Airport, there is a policy in place called “street pricing.” It says the price of an item you buy at the airport should be the same, if not less than, the same item at a comparable location near the airport.
But just how much more are you paying at the airport for the same thing you can buy at a store down the street? 11 Investigates Amy Hudak bought a plane ticket and headed to Pittsburgh International Airport to answer that question.
Ask just about anyone at the airport.
“We’re a captive audience — that’s what the airport is,” one traveler said.
“It’s expensive,” like double, sometimes triple," another traveler added.
“It’s just knowledge, common knowledge,” Sara Hertz added. “It’s always more expensive in the airport.”
To find out how much more you’re paying at the airport, 11 Investigates teamed up with our Cox Media Group sister stations. We visited eight airports across the U.S. and bought some of the most common items travelers buy. We then compared those prices with off-airport stores.
At Pittsburgh International Airport, we paid several dollars more for travel-size Tylenol — a 219-percent increase from the price for the same number of pills outside the airport. Travel-size toothpaste was 156% more. A bag of Cheez-Its was 166% more, and a Snickers bar was 107% higher at PIT. We paid 31% more for a Diet Coke and 18% more for the same Chick-fil-A sandwich we got at a drive-thru in Robinson. A USB cord was nearly $20 more at the airport, a 95% increase from a similar brand at Target down the street.
“It is expensive to operate in an airport,” Gary Leff tells 11 Investigates.
Leff is a travel industry expert. He’s written about airport prices on his blog - View From the Wing.
“The rents are high, often wages are higher and the process of bringing things through security is much more challenging,” Leff said.
He says airports have competing interests, and they benefit from profitable concessionaires.
“The real issue is where merchants aren’t compliant with the rules they’ve agreed to as part of their contract and where airport authorities may not be enforcing those agreements,” Leff added.
The price differences we found aren’t unique to Pittsburgh. Our team found the same items, including a USB cord, Tylenol, toothpaste and a Snickers marked up at least 100% at airports in Boston, Seattle, Orlando and Jacksonville.
We took our findings to local Congressman Chris Deluzio, who just introduced legislation to curb price gouging at pro stadium concessions.
“I’m very concerned to hear your reporting that you’re seeing higher prices at the airport, and I’ll be pushing the airport to fix this,” Congressman Deluzio (D-PA 17) said. “I don’t want to see folks ripped off because they’ve got to go fly for work or a vacation or visit loved ones.”
Congressman Deluzio says street pricing only works if it’s being enforced.
11 Investigates found a 2022 report from the Allegheny County Controller’s Office, where street pricing was tested on more than 200 items at 25 stores in the airport.
It found:
- 80% of stores tested had non-compliant items.
- 15 stores are repeatedly non-compliant
In 2022, the Controller’s Office recommended the Allegheny County Airport Authority:
- Update its lease agreement to include penalties for stores that are continually non-compliant with street pricing
- Ensure penalties are enforced
That was four years ago, and street pricing compliance hasn’t been tested by the County Controller’s Office since.
Allegheny County’s Acting Controller declined an interview, since she just took office, but sent 11 Investigates the following:
“Through the intergovernmental agreement creating the Airport Authority, the office of the County Controller is empowered to conduct reviews of Airport retailers for compliance with regulations requiring ‘street pricing.’ Findings are reported to the Authority to assist with enforcement. While reviews were not conducted during the recent Airport revitalization project, the Controller’s office plans to resume them in the near future.” - Acting Allegheny County Controller Amy Weise Clements
Enforcing street pricing falls on the Allegheny County Airport Authority. The Authority tells 11 Investigates in part:
“PIT is committed to street pricing. Vendor contracts have street pricing language written into the contract, and they provide periodic reports. The airport works with our business partners to support adherence to street pricing requirements. If an issue is highlighted to us, our teams raise the issue with our business partners to examine and remedy.” -Allegheny County Airport Authority
The Allegheny County Airport Authority added that one of the stores we used for our comparison shopping of several items, Target, is not comparable in size or nature to the Hudson Stores at the airport, where many of our items were purchased.
The full statement from the Allegheny County Airport Authority can be found below:
“Pittsburgh International Airport provides a mix of global, national and local brands to enhance the passenger experience. We strive to offer the right brands at street prices, something many airports nationally do not include as part of their concession pricing.
The airport offers a range of price points for both shopping and dining, catering to the demand and budgets of all types of travelers. Families on the go can grab Chick-fil-A or Mineo’s Pizza, for example, while other travelers may be looking for a full sit-down meal at Primanti Bros. or drinks at the Martini Bar.
PIT is committed to street pricing. Vendor contracts have street pricing language written into the contract, and they provide periodic reports. The airport works with our business partners to support adherence to street pricing requirements. If an issue is highlighted to us, our teams raise the issue with our business partners to examine and remedy.
It’s important to note that street pricing means reasonably comparable prices to stores of similar size and nature. Comparable stores for Hudson, for example, are CVS, Walgreens, and Coen Market convenience stores – not large, big-box discount stores.
Additionally, with the opening of the new terminal our team has performed spot price checks against agreed upon comparable locations as part of new concession openings. The airport continues to support street pricing across its concessions program and recognizes its benefits to the traveling public."
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