With the growth of budget airlines and increased competition amongst carriers, the cost of air travel between countries (also known as country-to-country or C2C flights) has dropped significantly in recent decades. For many popular international routes, it’s now possible to find incredibly cheap airfares if you know where to look and how to be flexible with your travel dates.
What factors impact the price of C2C tickets?
There are several key factors that influence the cost of international air travel between two countries:
- Route/destination – More popular routes and destinations tend to have lower fares. Competition is higher amongst airlines for busier routes.
- Time of year – Traveling during peak seasons like summer and holidays is more expensive. Prices drop significantly during off-peak seasons.
- Day of week – Mid-week flights are generally cheaper than flying on weekends.
- Time of booking – Booking well in advance (ideally 6-12 weeks) gets lower fares before seats sell out.
- Airline – Low-cost and budget carriers offer cheaper pricing than full-service airlines.
- Class of service – Economy class is cheaper than premium cabins like business and first class.
Being flexible with your travel and optimizing based on these factors is key to finding the lowest fares. The difference in price can be hundreds of dollars on the same route.
What are the cheapest country combinations for air travel?
Some general country combinations that consistently offer cheap fares include:
- USA to Europe – Major hubs like London, Paris, Amsterdam from East Coast US cities have sub-$500 roundtrips.
- Europe flights within the continent – Flights between major cities can be $50-$100 one-way.
- Asia to Southeast Asia – Flights between top cities are very competitive, often $100-$300 roundtrips.
- USA/Canada to Mexico/Caribbean – Fares as low as $200-$300 roundtrip are common.
- Middle East to India/Southeast Asia – Strong competition leads to cheap fares of $300-$500 roundtrips.
For these popular international routes, the surge of budget carriers and frequency of flights means airlines aggressively compete on pricing.
What are the best practices for finding cheap country-to-country flights?
Here are some top tips for getting the lowest fares on international flights between countries:
- Book 6-12 weeks in advance – This gives you the widest selection of cheap seats before they sell out.
- Be flexible with dates – Shifting your travel dates by a few days can result in huge savings.
- Fly mid-week – Fridays and Sundays are the busiest and most expensive travel days.
- Check budget airline sites – Major carriers include EasyJet, Ryanair, AirAsia, Norwegian, WOW.
- Try alternate airports – Flying into a smaller regional airport can mean better deals.
- Use flight deal alert services – Sign up for email alerts on price drops for your chosen route.
- Book one-way tickets – Sometimes this is cheaper than roundtrip for complex routes.
- Watch for sales and promotions – Sign up for airline email lists to get sale announcements.
Being persistent and flexible in your search across airline sites will frequently result in major savings over standard published fares.
What are typical price ranges for popular country-to-country routes?
Here are estimated price ranges for some of the most popular international city pairings based on averages across airlines and classes of service:
Route | Estimated Price Range |
---|---|
New York to London | $400 – $800 roundtrip |
Los Angeles to Tokyo | $500 – $900 roundtrip |
Chicago to Paris | $600 – $1,200 roundtrip |
Miami to Mexico City | $200 – $400 roundtrip |
Bangkok to Singapore | $100 – $250 roundtrip |
Sydney to Bali | $200 – $500 roundtrip |
London to Barcelona | $50 – $250 roundtrip |
Dubai to Delhi | $300 – $600 roundtrip |
As shown, popular short haul routes in regions like Europe and Southeast Asia can be extremely cheap – often under $250 roundtrip. Longer routes like transatlantic and transpacific can still frequently be found for $500 to $1,000 or less roundtrip.
What are the best low-cost country-to-country carriers?
Here are some of the leading low-cost and budget airlines serving popular country-to-country routes around the world:
Europe
- Ryanair
- easyJet
- Wizz Air
- Norwegian Air
- Eurowings
- Vueling
- WOW air
North America
- Air Canada Rouge
- Southwest Airlines
- JetBlue
- Allegiant Air
- Spirit Airlines
- Sun Country Airlines
Asia/Pacific
- AirAsia
- Jetstar
- Tigerair
- Cebu Pacific
- Scoot
- AirAsia X (long haul)
These carriers offer extensive networks spanning multiple countries, so it’s easy to mix and match flights on a single itinerary. Budget airlines have been a game changer in making international travel more affordable.
What online travel resources can help find C2C flight deals?
Some of the best online travel resources for finding cheap country-to-country flight deals include:
- Google Flights – Great for easily searching dates and nearby airports. Shows price trends.
- Skyscanner – Searches all airlines. Price calendar is helpful.
- Momondo – Compares major and budget carriers. Fare alerts available.
- Airfarewatchdog – Customizable deal alerts and rebooking advice.
- HolidayPirates – Hand-picked flight deals curated daily.
- Secret Flying – Specializes in mistake fares and super cheap deals.
- Scott’s Cheap Flights – Popular premium deal alerts service.
These aggregators and deal services frequently uncover great C2C flight bargains that beat the fares directly offered on airline sites. Combining a couple tools maximizes your chances of finding the lowest fare for your international trip.
Conclusion
Country-to-country air travel between top global destinations is more affordable than ever thanks to increased airline competition and growth of budget carriers. For popular routes in regions like Europe and Southeast Asia, roundtrip flights routinely sell for under $250. With some flexibility and research, even long haul intercontinental flights between regions can often be found for just a few hundred dollars.
To get the best C2C flight prices, focus on traveling mid-week on off-peak dates, book 6-12 weeks out, and leverage low-cost airlines as much as possible. Use aggregators and flight deal services to unlock added savings not available directly from airline sites. The savings from finding cheap fares can make all the difference in being able to take the international trip of your dreams.