Phl ranks 9th in offering best value for flights

Reflective of a booming local aviation industry, the Philippines was found to have the ninth cheapest airline tickets in the world, according to ranking by an online travel agency.

The country ranked ninth out of 75 countries with an average flight cost of $7.76 per 100-kilometer of travel for both local and international trips, this year’s Aviation Price Index released by kiwi.com said. “We always aim to offer travellers the best possible deals and hope this ranking informs customers on the countries from which they can expect the most effective airfare and assist them in booking the best value journey,” said Oliver Dlouhy, the company president. Rankings were produced by looking at over a million flights to find the average ticket cost per 100-km of travel. India topped the list on offering best value flight cost of $3.21, while Malaysia and Russia ranked second and third with $3.78 and $5.88, respectively. At the other end, the United Arab Emirates was found to have the most expensive airline tickets with $105.71, according to the latest rankings. Philippine domestic air passenger traffic grew 12 percent in the first quarter to 5.84 million, which the government had attributed to numerous promotional offers by different airlines. In particular, Civil Aeronautics Board data earlier showed three budget carriers namely Cebu Pacific Air, PAL Express and Philippines’ AirAsia accounting for bulk of domestic traffic from January to March.