Australian airline Tigerair has been deemed the world’s cheapest according to the 2018 Global Flight Price Ranking.
The report is based on the analysis of 1.5 million economy-class prices from 200 airlines. Tigerair customers pay just 6 cents per kilometer of travel.
Tigerair, despite being inexpensive, has a bad reputation: It was named Australia’s worst airline for three years in a row. In 2014, though, Virgin purchased the airline and its image is improving.
The report also lists additional information about other carriers, including the cheapest among international airlines and domestic airlines elsewhere.
Twenty-four of this year’s top 30 most affordable international airlines are based in Asia or the Middle East. AirAsia X saw ticket prices of 7 cents per kilometer, and Air India Express and Indonesia AirAsia were 8 cents per kilometer. Those ranked as the top three in this category.
“Since our 2016 report, we have seen some significant shifts in pricing and ranking,” said Kirsteene Phelan, chief operating officer, Rome2rio. “Airlines who have ventured into the budget scene — such as British Airways — as well as those such as Norwegian who have a reputation as budget stars — need to pass on higher fuel and operational costs to the customer.”
In the United States, Southwest was cheapest at 29 cents per mile.
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