NZ lifts ranking in global survey of flight prices that shows Malaysia is cheapest

Malaysia offers the least expensive flight prices while Belgium is the most expensive, according to online travel agency Kiwi.com's second annual flight price index.

The research, based on 80 of the world's most frequently visited countries and cities, found that Malaysia averaged a flight cost of US$4.18 per 100 kilometres of travel, followed by Bulgaria and India, while Belgium came in at $54.63/100 km, edging out the Netherlands and Qatar.

The rankings are calculated by analysing the costs of over 1 million flights to find an average price of short-haul and long-haul flights. Domestic flights were calculated by finding an average of flight costs from a country's capital to up to five major cities within the country or a major city in a neighbouring country that is no more than 1,000 km away. International flights were calculated using journeys from all international airports in each country to up to five international hubs.

New Zealand was in position 17, with an average cost of US$8.43/100 km of travel. In the prior survey carried out a year ago, it was in position 24 with an average flight cost of US$11.42. The 2016 ranking took into account 75 of the world's most frequently visited countries.

Costs have come down in New Zealand due to increased completion on both domestic and international routes. Australia was in position 69 with an average cost of US$29.39/100 km of travel. The US wasn't included.

In 2016, the least expensive was India at US$3.25/100 km of travel, while the most expensive was the United Arab Emirates at US$105.71.

"Ticket prices fluctuate constantly for a myriad of reasons. Year on year changes can partly be attributed to fuel prices, sociopolitical shifts such as Brexit, recent elections and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates," said Kiwi.com chief executive Oliver Dlouhy.

"The UK, for example, is seeing a larger number of Americans visit due to the weakening of the pound, whereas Egypt and Turkey saw a drop in ticket prices due to a decrease in demand due to regional turmoil," he added.

(BusinessDesk)