Airports With Cheap Premium Airfare: Cairo, Colombo, And More!

In this post I wanted to talk about a topic that’s near and dear to my heart — airports with consistently great airfare pricing, especially in premium cabins.

Obviously I prefer to redeem miles and points for premium cabin flights whenever possible. But with a bit of work, you can sometimes find first and business class tickets with incredibly attractive pricing, costing only a fraction of what you’d pay if originating elsewhere.

In this post, I wanted to look at this in a bit more detail. Which airports have great pricing in first and business class? Why is that the case? And does it even matter, if you don’t live near one of those airports?

Why is airfare pricing so origin dependent?

Airline pricing is incredibly complex. Airlines don’t charge for tickets based on the cost of providing transportation, but rather price based on the desire to maximize revenue as much as possible. The goal is always to get the highest fares possible while also filling as many seats as possible — after all, when a seat goes out empty, that’s lost revenue.

Airlines do a lot of price discriminating to segment the market, and they do this in a variety of ways. One of those methods is knowing that the willingness of consumers to pay differs significantly based on where you’re originating.

Let me explain that in the form of example. SWISS has roundtrip first class fares from Cairo to New York via Zurich for under $3,800.

Meanwhile do you want to fly the same exact itinerary, but in the opposite direction? Well, that’ll cost you over $14,000.

That’s just one example. The same principle also explains why when you’re looking at a simple domestic itinerary, where a nonstop is often more expensive than a connecting itinerary. Yes, it costs the airline more to transport you on two separate flights, but airlines also know that people are willing to pay a premium for convenience, and therefore may price nonstops higher.

So just remember, on a micro level, airline pricing is never about the costs incurred by airlines, but rather about the willingness of consumers to pay.

Which airports have the cheapest fares?

Over the years, some airports have certainly earned a reputation for having cheap first and business class fares. Let me of course emphasize that this won’t be the case in every single situation, but still, it’s true more often than not.

Before I share some specific examples, let me note some general trends between markets when traveling in premium cabins. You’ll typically find that:

• Airfare is the most expensive if originating in the United States, so you’ll find that transatlantic fares are typically much cheaper if originating in Europe, India, etc.
• In Asia, itineraries are much cheaper if originating in Southeast Asia than in North Asia
• In the greater Middle East region, itineraries are typically much cheaper if originating in North Africa, India, Pakistan, etc., rather than on the Gulf peninsula

Now, to be a bit more specific, there are some airports that are known for having exceptionally good fares. Historically I’ve talked about the three “Cs,” which are known for their amazing first and business class fares. I’m talking about:

• Cairo, Egypt (CAI)
• Colombo, Sri Lanka (CMB)
• Casablanca, Morocco (CMN)

Now, I like the sound of all the airports starting with the letter “C,” though I should mention that in North Africa, Algiers, Algeria (ALG), and Tunis, Tunisia (TUN), also have very attractive premium airfare. While those are probably the airports where I see the most consistently good fares, I should also mention some more broadly useful airports for these purposes:

• If originating in Europe, you’ll often find the best fares in Northern Europe, like if departing Copenhagen, Denmark (CPH) or Oslo, Norway (OSL), or from Dublin, Ireland (DUB)
• If originating in Southeast Asia, you’ll often find the best fares from Bangkok, Thailand (BKK), Jakarta, Indonesia (CGK), and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KUL)

Fortunately by using tools like Google Flights, it’s super easy to compare fares across various markets, and to find the good deals that are available. Let me emphasize that you’ll of course want to check the visa requirements for these airports based on the passport you have. And also just remember that transiting Cairo Airport isn’t always a pleasure…

Are there any practical implications here?

Understandably, many people are probably saying “I live in Houston, how does a good fare out of Cairo help me?” Well… that’s a fair point.

Admittedly I’m an outlier here, because I often take trips to review specific first and business class products, and want to do so as economically as possible. That often brings me through Cairo Airport, where I can almost always find a great premium fare for whatever product I want to review.

Now, while I’m an extreme example, I’m not alone. There are plenty of aviation geeks who want to take specific inaugural flights, and originating the trip at one of these airports is often the best value, by far.

But even beyond those of us who are such enthusiasts, I think there’s a general case to be made for the value cheap premium fares can provide. For example, if you’re planning a vacation to a destination with great premium fares, you can always redeem miles for one direction of travel, and book a cheap premium cabin fare for the other direction of travel.

There’s also something to be said for nesting tickets somewhere with cheaper fares. For example, say you often travel between the United States and Europe. Let’s say you live in Los Angeles and travel to Dublin often.

Rather than consistently booking tickets from Los Angeles to Dublin, maybe book a one-way award ticket, and then start planning your trips as roundtrips originating in Dublin instead, with your “layover” being your time at home in Los Angeles.

Why? Well, Aer Lingus’ roundtrip business class fares from Los Angeles to Dublin are typically close to $4,000.

Meanwhile fares in the other direction of travel are roughly half that.

That’s quite a difference, eh?

Bottom line

Airfare pricing can differ drastically based on where your travel is originating, even if you’re going between the same city pairs. There are some great opportunities to take advantage of this, by positioning yourself to airports with cheap fares.

Admittedly this isn’t practical for everyone, and in most cases won’t make sense. Still, I figured it was worth discussing this in a bit more detail, and explaining why Cairo Airport has basically become my second home when traveling. 😉

Have you ever booked a cheap premium fare out of one of these “special” airports?