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4 months ago
19
Britons hoping for a bargain summer break abroad can still fly to ten popular European destinations for less than £200 return each on average, a study has found.
The cheapest route for average return flights in August from all UK airports is Dublin, with a typical price of £87 - followed by Paris at £124 and Copenhagen at £130.
Also on the top ten list are Milan at £142, Amsterdam and Barcelona both at £146, Berlin at £149, Ibiza at £159, Palma de Mallorca at £176 and Rome at £186.
However the data from travel search engine Kayak also showed the average for Dublin had risen by 53 per cent from the typical price in August 2023 of £57.
Meanwhile Istanbul has seen the biggest proportional drop in average flight prices between next month and August last year, with a fall of 22 per cent to £278.
Other destinations with a big year-on-year fall were Hong Kong, down 19 per cent to £877; Marrakech, down 18 per cent to £240; and Tirana, down 13 per cent to £287.
New Delhi was down 13 per cent to £631, Lagos has fallen 12 per cent to £885 and Colombo dropped 12 per cent to £843. Kochi slipped 11 per cent to £739.
| Dublin | £87 | £57 |
| Paris | £124 | £127 |
| Copenhagen | £130 | £117 |
| Milan, | £142 | £105 |
| Amsterdam | £146 | £139 |
| Barcelona | £146 | £173 |
| Berlin | £149 | £166 |
| Ibiza | £159 | £174 |
| Palma de Mallorca | £176 | £207 |
| Rome | £186 | £185 |
Kayak travel expert Rachel Mumford said: 'Our data reveals that it's not too late to get away this summer, with August still presenting an ideal time for travellers to explore popular destinations without stretching their wallets.'
She added that the company had a new AI-powered tool called 'Kayak PriceCheck', which means travellers can take a screenshot of a flight itinerary from any website, upload it to the Kayak app and this will then be compared against hundreds of websites to see if a better price is available.
Separate research by MailOnline using Google Flights data today showed the cheapest return flight within Kayak's top ten destinations next month was £30 for Dublin.
The next lowest price across all dates in August was £41 for Ibiza, followed by £52 for Paris and £56 for both Milan and Copenhagen.
The average return flight price in August from all UK airports to Dublin is £87
Olympics host city Paris has an average return flight price in August from UK airports of £124
The cheapest for Barcelona was £71, while it was £77 for Palma de Mallorca, £79 for Berlin, £81 for Amsterdam and £82 for Rome.
| Istanbul | £278 | -22% |
| Hong Kong | £877 | -19% |
| Marrakech | £240 | -18% |
| Barcelona | £146 | -15% |
| Palma de Mallorca | £176 | -15% |
| Tirana | £287 | -13% |
| New Delhi | £631 | -13% |
| Lagos | £885 | -12% |
| Colombo | £843 | -12% |
| Kochi | £739 | -11% |
| Berlin | £149 | -11% |
It comes after Ryanair revealed that airfares will be 'materially lower' over the peak summer months than last year, as it reported plummeting quarterly profits.
The Irish budget carrier said that lower prices over spring pushed profits down 46 per cent to €360million (£303million) for the three months to June 30.
The average fare fell 15 per cent to €42 (£35) year on year, while passenger numbers rose 10 per cent to 55.5million.
Looking ahead, Ryanair expects bumper demand in the summer months, but warned 'pricing remains softer than we expected'. That sent Ryanair shares down 17 per cent yesterday.
And rivals were also dragged lower as experts fear a price war hitting the wider airline industry. British Airways owner IAG fell 3.4 per cent, Easyjet lost 7.2 per cent and Wizz Air plunged 10 per cent.
Ryanair said yesterday that air fares will be 'materially lower' this summer than last year
Earlier this month, Jet2 said there would only be 'modest' price increases this summer
Gerald Khoo, an analyst at investment bank Liberum, said 'aggressive discounting by Ryanair' will likely cause 'adverse implications' for the rest of the industry – forcing rival carriers to cut prices, despite costs rising.
It was the latest sign that the post-pandemic boom in pricing enjoyed by carriers is coming to an end, with other airlines also having recently warned over ticket prices.
Customers are typically waiting longer than usual to book summer holidays, which is thought to be partly a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
Earlier this month, Jet2 said there would only be 'modest' price increases this summer amid a wave of later bookings to its European destinations.
Lufthansa has also pointed to 'negative market trends', while Air France-KLM warned of a financial hit after fewer people than expected booked flights to Paris for the forthcoming Olympic Games.
Adam Vettese, an analyst at investment platform eToro, said: 'It seems the demand is still there but consumers are being a little more price conscious and are now pushing back against higher fares.'
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