Poor ranking proves Aussies are paying more for travel

Kiwi.com has released their second annual flight price index and the results aren’t good news for Aussies – we’re ranked the 69th most affordable country to fly from, out of 80 countries.

Just in front of Morocco and just behind South Korea, Australia has gone down the charts in the past year, dropping from 64th place in 2016.

The flight price index is judged on how much it costs (in USD) on average to fly per 100km in both short haul and long-haul flights in each country.

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The average cost of an Australian flight is $41.77 per 100km in short-haul flights and $9.68 per 100km in long-haul flights. This is equal to an overall average of $29.39.

Compare this to the number one placing, Malaysia, which has an overall average of $4.18, and it’s clear there’s a huge disparity in the pricing.

The top 10 least expensive countries are:

1. Malaysia – $4.18
2. Bulgaria – $4.65
3. India – $4.96
4. Turkey – $6.28
5. Romania – $6.46
6. Indonesia – $6.49
7. Portugal – $6.50
8. Thailand – $6.74
9. Sweden – $6.96
10. Spain – $7.08

The five most expensive countries are:

76. United Arab Emirates – $44.42
77. Chile – $53.53
78. Qatar – $53.94
79. Netherlands – $54.51
80. Belgium – $54.63

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Kiwi.com analysed more than a million flights to create the data, looking at flights from countries’ major cities. It noted there is a large oscillation in pricing.

Kiwi.com CEO Oliver Dlouhy said there are several reasons why prices fluctuate.

“Year on year changes can partly be attributed to fuel prices, sociopolitical shifts such as Brexit, recent elections and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates,” he said. “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.”

Kiwi.com developed the flight price index to show travellers the most affordable destinations to help them travel further on their budget.

So why is Australia so expensive? CEO of Airline Intelligence and Research, Dr Tony Webber told the ABC the hefty price tag on Aussie flights is in part due to Australian wages being higher than other countries, as well as the fact we have a more concentrated aviation market.

“It’s a duopoly in the Australian domestic market – dominated by Qantas and Virgin,” he said.

Therefore, there’s no real competitive force driving prices down. Compare this to the United States, which has 18 carriers and ranked at number 30.

It seems we can only hope for more competition in the future.

Do you think we’re paying too much for airline travel in Australia? Let us know in the comments.