The Cost of Flying: A Reality Check

A key reason why people are reluctant to choose a train journey over a plane is that flying is seen as a lot cheaper. At least that’s what we found in our recent Fare Competition report, which explored how people decide between travel options. So are flights actually much cheaper in reality, or is that more of a misconception created by airline marketing? We checked out some prices to find out more… 

With aviation accounting for 10% of the UK’s carbon emissions, cutting down on the amount of flying we do is a big way that we can help to address climate change. It’s important that we consider lower emission alternatives to flying, such as getting the train, coach or ferry, which can be a great way of reducing the environmental impact of your holiday.

One problem is, these more climate-friendly modes of transport are often seen as more expensive than flying and this has a big impact on which mode of transport people choose. However, research has found that flying often isn’t actually as cheap as it’s advertised to be. A study that compared different travel options in Europe found that rail was the cheapest mode of travel overall. They also found airline prices were often lacking in transparency, as the advertised price was rarely the total price to be paid at the end of the sales process. So we decided to check out rail and plane prices to Europe from the UK.

We compared the cheapest price for flying and going by train from London to several popular European destinations, booking both one month and three months in advance. In addition to the basic flight price, we included the extra amount needed to bring a cabin bag on the flight (as opposed to just one personal bag that can fit under the seat), as well as the public transport cost of getting from the airport to the city centre. 

For five out of the seven destinations we tested, there was less than a £50 difference between plane and train prices when booked one month in advance. This difference ranged from £45.03 to £0.42. In addition, there was less than a £40 difference for three of the destinations when booked three months in advance. It was actually £2.74 cheaper to take the train to Brussels than fly when booked three months in advance. 

This was just the basic price for a flight and a cabin bag. When a piece of checked luggage is included (which is probably necessary for most family holidays or those lasting more than a few days) the difference becomes even smaller. Plus, there’s also the costs of reserving a seat in advance, extra leg room or a flexible ticket, which aren’t included in the headline price. 

We also looked into the prices airlines advertise on their website and compared them with the actual price of those flights at the check out. Of the ten flights (from six airlines) we investigated, all of them were more expensive at the checkout once the cost of a checked bag, basic seat reservation and (in some cases) cabin bag were included. Often the final price was more than twice as much as the one advertised on the website. 

For instance, one Ryanair flight to Copenhagen advertised for a jaw-dropping £12.99, required a £12.00 addition for a cabin bag, £12.99 extra for a checked bag and £4.00 for a standard seat reservation. The final price came to £41.98, three times more than the advertised price. 

One of the participants in our ‘Fare Competition’ research expressed that he didn’t mind taking a train “if it’s a bit more than flying... but not three times the price”. But the reality is that in some cases the actual price of flying can be up to three times more expensive than is advertised. 

Of course rail journeys can still cost more than flying, particularly as flying is artificially cheap due to the £7bn per year subsidies the government gave air travel before the Covid pandemic. In order to ensure fairer price competition, we’re calling for a frequent flyer levy. This would increase the cost of flying for those who fly multiple times a year. You can read more about it here. 

But in the meantime, when booking your next holiday, why not make sure that when comparing flight costs with more climate friendly travel options, you take into consideration all the additional costs that come with flying, not just the price the airline is advertising?