How to fly to Asia from Europe for less

Been dreaming of spending your days learning to surf in Bali? Or diving in the Philippines? Perhaps you’re thinking with your stomach, and want to eat your way through the hawker centres of Singapore?

If it’s only the flight price tag that’s stopping you from turning those dreams into reality, you might just want to read on.

That’s because we’ve pulled together all of the budget routes that will take you from Europe to Asia for less.

Combine these routes with the usual money-saving tips – like flying on a Friday, and booking your flight around six weeks before you go – and you’ll have more cash to splash on activities and hotels.

Direct routes

Unfortunately, there aren’t many budget airlines that fly between Europe and Asia.

Scoot, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, flies from Singapore to Athens and Vienna, with round-trip flights starting from €480 from the former and from €550 from the latter.

German airline Condor flies from Frankfurt to Bangkok, with return flights from €660.

With a layover

There are plenty of budget airline options if you’re willing to book flights with a layover.

Flying via the Middle East is a typical route between Europe and Asia, but the main Gulf carriers like Qatar Airways and Emirates aren’t your only options.

Air Arabia, which has bases in both Sharjah and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, flies to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Krabi and Phuket.

The carrier serves many European destinations, including Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, Vienna and London. Flights can be as little as €300 one-way.

AirAsia X was due to launch flights between Kuala Lumpur and London via Bahrain this summer, but these plans have been put on hold due to the Iran war.

If you’re open to self-transfer, Cebu Pacific flies to Manila from Dubai and Riyadh. You can reach Dubai from Berlin with Condor, and from Berlin and Stuttgart with Eurowings; for Riyadh, you can fly with Flynas from Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Krakow, Munich and Istanbul.

Budget Indian carrier IndiGo flies to destinations including Bangkok, Phuket and Singapore from its main hub in Delhi. The only city in Europe served by the carrier is Istanbul.