How much effort do you spend searching for the best-value flights outside of the UK (or any other country for that matter)? As an example, we often fly into New York, stay 24-48 hours, perhaps a meeting or two, then fly domestic within the US.
Flying to business destinations may prove to be more cost-effective than your regular holiday destination. More hassle, granted, particularly if you have a family, but flying into any city which is used for business, can save you money. Boston is another example, coming in at only 4.69p per mile, compared to 12.94p per mile for Miami – nearly three times the price.
This is all based on research carried out for The Telegraph and thanks to the flight comparison website Kayak.
Some routes are surprising value. Flying into Los Angeles is only 3.42p per mile, whereas San Francisco, in the same county, is 8.4p per mile. In fact, Los Angeles is one of the cheapest destinations in the US. Atlanta being the most expensive, at 18.97p per mile. Atlanta airport is the busiest hub in the States.
But, there are other advantages, too. Flying into Boston rather than Miami might require a domestic flight change (but does allow you to spend some time in Boston), but immigration is a breeze. As Boston is a business destination, the airport is focussed on getting people through as quickly as possible, compared to somewhere such as Miami which is effectively a hub for South American travellers and people coming into Florida on vacation. Sometimes the queues can be horrendous.
The differences apply across Europe, too. Fly into Vienna and the cost per mile is 8.65p, compared to only 4.67p for a location such as Madrid. Indeed, Brussels is the most expensive European flight destination with a cost of 23.73p per mile.
Remember, fares to popular holiday destinations change through the year. A good example is Mallorca. Between June and October, it’s an expensive destination, and prices are reflected based on this demand Stuart Barwood, founder of airline consultancy firm Travercial told the Telegraph “If the airline assumes that leisure passengers will tend to book relatively early, months before their holidays, it may be tempted to start pricing seats on that route relatively high. It would then adjust them according to the market response.”
However, the same destination in April – a pleasant time to visit the island we’ll add – is almost half the cost as it would be in high season, so our advice would be to try and search for flights when the demand is lower. Try going to the Greek Islands in early June, rather than August or try New York in January. We recently flew into New York and, although cold, the hotels were half price, plane tickets cheap and few people around.
See the Telegraph Travel Truths website for more information.
