According to a report by online travel agent Kiwi.com, Thailand rates within the top ten countries worldwide for cheap flights.
Thailand managed to secure the 8th position for cheapest flights in an index that covers the average cost of flights in some eighty countries. Malaysia held top position with Bulgaria, India, Turkey and Romania filling up the rest of the top 5 positions in that order.
On the other end of the scale Belgium had the most expensive flights, with the lowest five positions for cheapness occupied by the Netherlands, Chile, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The index showed that the average cost of travel for Thailand, per 100 km, came in at 6.20 Euros or approximately 237 Thai Baht. This was an average based on 3.69 Euros on short haul flights per 100km on low cost airlines and 7.56 Euros on full service airlines as well as long haul flights on full service airlines at 9.35 Euros and on low cost airlines at 4.18 Euros.
The cheapest country, Malaysia, was some way ahead with average prices 62% less expensive than Thailand coming in at 3.84 Euros per 100 km.
The index presented by Kiwi.com (previously known as Skyscraper) took into account low cost carriers, full service carries and flights of all durations including long haul, medium haul and short haul flights and including domestic and international flights.
For international flights prices were based on travel from the county’s main international airport hubs to several international destinations both near and far.
For domestic flights, the prices used were based on travel from the capital city to 5 significant city destinations within the same country. In small countries where there may not be many domestic routes, the five shortest international flights to major cities in neighbouring countries were used.
Comparisons were carried out on spot days, using for the same day of travel for each country so as not to have seasonal factors influence the statistics between the travel dates. Then various same day travel dates were selected across the year so that any price deviations that occurred over time such as seasonal factors or fuel price changes could be fairly averaged into the overall index.
Oliver Dlouhy, chief executive of Kiwi.com was quoted as saying, “Egypt and Turkey for example saw a decline in ticket prices because of a decrease in demand as a result of regional turmoil.”
Qatar’s price per 100km of travel on low cost airlines was a whopping 80.40 Euros, meaning these airlines cost more than many full service airlines in other countries. Sweden’s international flights on low cost airlines were the cheapest at just 1.20 Euros per 100km.
