Which international flights offer the best bang for your holiday buck?

Research by hotel booking platform, Hoo, has revealed which destinations offer the most affordable trip away when it comes to the cost of flying versus the time spent actually in the air.

Hoo analysed the cost of flying to 15 destinations from London based on the average cost of the flight, the approximate time spent in the air and what this related to on a cost per minute basis.

The research shows that China ranks as the most expensive flight. Although a flight to Beijing will take around 10 hours, the average cost of a flight will set you back £848, or £1.41 per minute.

This is closely followed by Tokyo where the average cost of £858 equates to £1.24 for every minute spent in the air. Perhaps the worst value for money is a flight to Cairo, as despite taking just 4 hours and 40 minutes, equates to a cost of £1.13 per minute.

New York is also relatively expensive, with a flight time of just seven and a half hours costing £1.09 per minute.

Sydney offers better long-haul bang for your buck. While the flight takes almost 22 hours and costs an average of £1,307, this equates to just £1.01 a minute. Cape Town (88p) and Rio De Janeiro (82p) also rank well on the long haul front, with a flight time of nearly 12 hours a piece coming in at less than 90p per minute where the average cost is concerned.

If you’re heading to France this summer, think about taking the train. While a flight to Paris will take just over an hour, the average cost of £54 means you’re actually paying 77p per minute, which is more than the cost of flying to Mumbai.

The best short-haul value for money would be a flight to Greece, Spain or Italy. With each destination sitting at roughly a two and half to three and a half hour flight from London, they come in at an average cost of 35p or less per minute spent in the air.

Hoo Co-founder, Adrian Murdock, commented:

“It’s interesting to see how the individual cost of travelling by plane differs depending on our destination and how some flights come in remarkably cheaper than others.

Of course, this is unlikely to be a driving factor during the decision making process for a summer holiday but in the case of Paris, in particular, it might get you thinking about whether flying is really the best option, or whether a train or car could be done for much cheaper.”