Travellers looking to get away on a holiday could be charged more for a flight just down to the UK airport they fly from. We compared the prices for the same flights from Bristol and Cardiff Airport, and travellers from a certain departures lounge will pay a lot more.
Cardiff and Bristol Airport are just over an hour away from each other and the close locations give Welsh travellers a wider choice when it comes to booking their next holiday. The airports do vary slightly when it comes to the destinations on offer as Cardiff tends to have more long haul destinations compared to Bristol Airport.
When it comes to comparing the prices of the destinations that both of the local airports fly to, there's one airport that proves to be a lot more expensive - after adding up the price of the same return-tickets, Cardiff costs a lot more.
READ MORE: Best Cardiff Airport holiday deals for February 2023 with Ryanair, TUI and more
One reader got in touch about the price differences they've noticed between flying from Cardiff or Bristol airport. They said: "On our last eight flights to Tenerife only one has been from Cardiff. We can fly from Bristol cheaper and this includes taking into account transport there and back home."
To compare the price differences we've added up the individual cost of one return ticket from Cardiff and Bristol, with the same operator and flying on the same day. One specific route was more than £200 cheaper from Bristol than the same return flight from Cardiff.
TUI Flights from Cardiff £200 more expensive
A return flight (for one adult passenger) to Tenerife in March comes to an average of £416 from Cardiff Airport, more than double the price of the same route from Bristol. The average return price for the same route from Bristol Airport was around £166 for one adult in March, the cheapest listed price was £120 total (flying out on March 21).
The only difference flying to Tenerife from the two airports is the flight time, it's a total of four hours and five minutes from Cardiff and four hours and 10 minutes from Bristol.
Another popular TUI destination, Lanzarote, also came out more expensive on flights from Cardiff. Comparing the flights leaving on March 23, and returning March, 30, the flight from Bristol Airport was £68 cheaper per person.
A return flight for one adult passenger from Cardiff Airport (flights only, no hotel) came to a total of £438, compared to the total of £370 for the same flight from Bristol Airport, on the same dates.
Flights towards the summer months rise in price too, which is to be expected around the school holidays. Both Cardiff and Bristol Airport passengers can fly direct to Corfu, Greece.
We looked at the price of a return flight and there's a £81 price difference for a ticket out on Friday, June 2. Flyers from Cardiff will pay £666 in total each and those flying from Bristol would pay £586 each return.
Up to £114 difference on Ryanair flights
We also checked routes provided by Ryanair on shorter haul flights across Europe, again there is a significant price jump between the two departure airports.
A flight to Malaga, Spain (leaving April 1 and returning April, 8) is £114 cheaper from Bristol Airport and does not include additional government taxes. Return flyers from Cardiff to Malaga would pay a total of £301.48 compared to the total price of £187.48 for the same round trip from Bristol.
Another short European flight that both airports fly to is Faro in Portugal, adding up return flights it's the only Ryanair flight we spotted that is cheaper to get to from Cardiff as opposed to from Bristol. Flying out on August 20 and returning August, 27 would cost a total of £176.38 from Cardiff and a total of £253.78 from Bristol.
KLM prices from Cardiff and Bristol Airport
Both Cardiff and Bristol Airport offer international transfers through KLM's Schipol International Airport in Amsterdam. From both local UK aiports travellers can then go on to make international connections to the US, South Africa and South East Asia.
We added up the prices of the popular flight route to Amsterdam from both UK airports, and the difference is marginal. Looking at the same dates a return flight for one passenger would cost £162.97 from Bristol and £194.11 from Cardiff (flying out February 28, returning March 3).
Looking further away in September there's also a small price difference of £4.86 between the two airports, with Cardiff cheaper at £179.91 compared to the Bristol price of £184.57.
Certain price differences like the KLM flights above are only small and by the time the cost of petrol or public transport has been considered for getting to Bristol Airport there would not be any saving. However, certain destinations, especially the more long-haul beach locations, tend to have bigger savings for passengers flying from Bristol Airport as opposed to Cardiff.
Spencer Birns, Chief Executive Officer at Cardiff Airport highlighted the current demand for flights, he said: "The airlines are selling their seats quickly and we are working on trying to secure extra flights for customers living in Wales who want to go on these flights. The strong forward sales are driving up the prices the airlines are charging for their remaining capacity.
"Booking early helps customers to secure the best and lowest prices. For those who are still looking for bargains, we are aware of availability with some low fares still available on a number of routes to Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Ireland where the low-cost airlines and tour operators are still offering fantastic prices from Cardiff.
"Our Long-haul connections from Cardiff with KLM are also proving to be extremely popular with customers reporting they have found bargains to Dubai, Barbados, Las Vegas and Boston via Amsterdam."
Prices are correct as of date of publishing.
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