MILWAUKEE, WI (WTAQ) - Fares at Wisconsin’s largest airport are still cheaper than the national average.

The U.S. Transportation Department says fares at Milwaukee’s Mitchell International are $57 less than the national norm of $385 for a domestic round trip. Milwaukee is $65 cheaper than flights at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele jumped on that number, saying that passengers can save a lot of money on airfares and parking by flying through Mitchell instead of O’Hare.  That’s not a new theme by Milwaukee officials, who’ve been trying for years to get fliers to consider Mitchell as an alternative to landing in the Windy City.

The DOT’s fare numbers are from the second quarter of this year.

They showed that Madison had the nation’s seventh-highest average round-trip fares, at $473 – almost $150 cheaper than Milwaukee. Cincinnati had the nation’s highest average fares for the second quarter, at $535.