For the millions of Britons heading off this summer to holiday destinations around the world, or for those who go on regular weekend breaks to mainland Europe, taking a taxi from the airport to a city centre hotel is usually the most convenient and fastest way to travel. But how much or little are Brits paying for this convenience?
New research from travel money specialist Moneycorp looks at the cost of a taxi ride – not booked in advance – from some of the major international airports in Europe and the rest of the world, to the city centre. Moneycorp looked at the most popular destinations for British holidaymakers, and results were ranked by cost per kilometre, as some airport to city centre transfers were more expensive due to the journey distance. The results revealed huge differences in price, even within mainland Europe.
European destinations fill six of the top seven places for most expensive airport to city centre taxi transfers. But top of the pile is Tokyo. A taxi ride from Tokyo Narita airport to the centre of the city, 66 km away, will set tourists back almost £200, or a cost per km of £2.90. That’s in spite of sterling strengthening against the yen since last summer by more than 24%.
Ranking by £ per km, Copenhagen (Denmark) is the most expensive airport-city centre taxi transfer in Europe. Although the taxi journey from Copenhagen airport to the city centre is only 8km, the average fare is £34.08, which equates to £4.26 per km. The next most expensive is Geneva (Switzerland) to centre of Geneva. Again the journey is short, only 6km, but will set holidaymakers back an average of £22.63 or £3.77 per km.
On price alone, the 45km taxi ride from Oslo’s Gardermoen airport to the city centre costs an eye-watering £73.45. Oslo is closely followed by Milan Malpensa airport to the centre of Milan, which will leave holidaymakers out-of-pocket by the machiavellian sum of £70.25.
The following table shows the most expensive taxi rides, ranked by cost per km, from international airports to capital or major city centres:
|
Location |
Airport |
Distance from airport to city centre (km) |
Average cost of taxi one way Apr 2013 (converted to £)
|
Average cost of taxi one way Apr 2012 (converted to £)
|
Annual change in taxi cost (£) |
Cost of taxi per km April 2013 (£ per km) |
|
Denmark, Copenhagen |
Copenhagen |
8 |
34.08 |
33.20 |
£0.88 |
4.26 |
|
Switzerland, Geneva |
Geneva |
6 |
22.63 |
22.26 |
£0.37 |
3.77 |
|
Japan, Tokyo |
Tokyo Narita |
66 |
191.48 |
208.54 |
-£17.07 |
2.90 |
|
Belgium, Brussels |
Brussels |
12 |
29.66 |
28.93 |
£0.73 |
2.47 |
|
Holland, Amsterdam |
Schiphol |
18 |
35.59 |
34.71 |
£0.88 |
1.98 |
|
Spain, Barcelona |
Barcelona |
13 |
25.42 |
24.79 |
£0.63 |
1.96 |
|
France, Paris |
Charles de Gaulle |
23 |
38.14 |
37.19 |
£0.95 |
1.66 |
|
Australia, Melbourne |
Melbourne |
23 |
37.30 |
35.73 |
£1.57 |
1.62 |
|
Portugal, Lisbon |
Portela |
9 |
14.41 |
14.05 |
£0.36 |
1.60 |
|
USA, New York |
Newark |
26 |
41.18 |
39.62 |
£1.56 |
1.58 |
|
Italy, Milan |
Malpensa |
46 |
72.03 |
70.25 |
£1.78 |
1.57 |
|
Ireland, Dublin |
Dublin |
14 |
21.19 |
20.66 |
£0.53 |
1.51 |
|
Greece, Athens |
Athens International |
20 |
29.66 |
28.93
|
£0.73 |
1.48 |
|
USA,San Francisco |
San Francisco International |
21 |
29.41 |
28.30 |
£1.11 |
1.40 |
|
Germany, Munich |
Munich |
31 |
42.37 |
41.32 |
£1.05 |
1.37 |
In terms of the cheapest airport-city centre taxi rides, Delhi’s Indira Ghandi International to the centre of Delhi, will set you back just £2.69 for the 16km journey, or £0.17 per km. This is closely followed by Thailand’s Suvernabhumi airport to Bangkok central, where a 30km taxi ride costs just £5.63 or £0.19 per km.
The next three cheapest destinations are in Europe; Sofia airport to city centre (£0.22 per km), Istanbul Ataturk airport (£0.24 per km), and Ottopeni airport (£0.28 per km), which is 17km outside Bucharest. On price alone, Sofia airport-city centre transfer works out cheapest at £2.17, followed by Bucharest (£4.79), Istanbul (£6.01) and Warsaw (£8.11).
The following table shows the cheapest taxi rides ranked by £ cost per km, from international airports to capital or major city centres:
|
Location |
Airport |
Distance from airport to city centre (km) |
Average cost of taxi one way Apr 2013 (converted to £)
|
Average cost of taxi one way Apr 2012 (converted to £)
|
Annual change in taxi cost (£) |
Cost of taxi per km April 2013 (£ per km) |
|
India, Delhi |
Indira Ghandi International |
16 |
2.69
|
2.75 |
(£0.06) |
0.17 |
|
Thailand, Bangkok |
Suvarnabhumi |
30 |
5.63 |
5.17 |
£0.46 |
0.19 |
|
Bulgaria, Sofia |
Sofia |
10 |
2.17 |
2.11 |
£0.05 |
0.22 |
|
Turkey, Istanbul |
Ataturk |
25 |
6.01 |
5.77 |
£0.34 |
0.24 |
|
Romania, Bucharest |
Ottopeni |
17 |
4.79 |
4.71 |
£0.08 |
0.28 |
|
Brazil, Rio de Janeiro |
Galeao |
20 |
8.21 |
8.64 |
(£0.43) |
0.41 |
|
Argentina, Buenos Aires |
Ministro Pistarini |
35 |
15.08 |
17.01 |
(£1.93) |
0.43 |
|
Dubai, Abu Dhabi |
Abu Dhabi International |
26 |
12.44 |
12.01 |
£0.43 |
0.48 |
|
Hong Kong, Kowloon |
Hong Kong International |
34 |
20.17 |
19.48 |
£0.69 |
0.59 |
|
China, Beijing |
Beijing Capital |
25 |
15.64 |
15.04 |
£0.60 |
0.63 |
|
Sweden, Stockholm |
Arlanda |
43 |
34.80 |
32.24 |
£2.56 |
0.81
|
|
Poland, Warsaw |
The Frederic Chopin |
10 |
8.11 |
7.90 |
£0.21 |
0.81 |
In terms of distance, the international airports which are furthest from the city centre are: Tokyo Narita (66km), Reykjavik Keflavik (48km), Milan Malpensa (46km), Oslo Gardermoen (45km), Stockholm Arlanda (43km), Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini (35km) and Hong Kong (34km). The closest are Geneva (6km), Copenhagen (8km) and Lisbon’s Portela airport (9km).
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