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Stopping at this unconventional city could significantly reduce your travel costs
Amelia NeathMonday 01 December 2025 11:38 GMTComments
Flying to an unconventional layover spot before heading to Tokyo or Sydney could save you hundreds (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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Travellers could save hundreds of pounds when flying to destinations like Sydney or Tokyo by using new layover destination research.
When flying across to countries such as Australia or Japan from the UK, direct flights are available – but are also notoriously expensive.
Money can be saved when incorporating layovers into journeys, with the most common spots including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Doha.
However, consumer champion Which? has revealed that there is an even cheaper way for travellers to save at least £350 on trips to Australian and East Asian cities.
Instead of flying directly from Heathrow or Gatwick, or taking the conventional layover routes, Which? urges passengers to first find the cheapest flight to Istanbul, Turkey.
After analysing price data from flight search engine Skyscanner, they found that the average flight from London to Sydney costs £1,012, while a flight from Istanbul to Sydney costs significantly less at £653.
Adding a stop at Istanbul, therefore, could save a difference of £359 per person. Meanwhile, for Tokyo, it was £350 cheaper per person.
Which? said that there are flights from airports such as Bristol, Manchester and London for less than £30 to Istanbul, and even with added luggage costs, the overall price of the journey will be significantly less.
The catch is, however, that you are likely to still have another layover in your journey to Australia despite flying to Istanbul, as there are no direct flights on this route.
For Japan, however, Turkish Airlines does offer direct flights to Tokyo and Osaka from Istanbul.
Istanbul was found by Which? to be the cheapest city to fly from to some of the most popular long-haul destinations, compared to other major European airports.
On average, it is £139pp cheaper to fly from Istanbul than Amsterdam, and £137pp cheaper than flying from London.
Oslo was the second cheapest airport (£612), followed by Paris and Stockholm (both £641), Madrid (£672), Copenhagen (£682) and Frankfurt (£705).
However, there were some variations, as the research found that Istanbul was unsurprisingly not the cheapest for westbound flights.
Copenhagen had the most affordable flights to New York (£355), while Oslo had the cheapest journeys to Los Angeles (£401), both, however, on indirect routes.
London was found to be the most expensive city to fly from after Amsterdam. The UK capital is partly so expensive to depart from due to the long-haul tax, which from the UK in economy class is £94.
Taxes from other countries range from zero (Turkey, Sweden) to around £40 (France). Which? also said that high prices could also be due to high demand for flights from the UK, which causes the prices to stay high.
Read more: What’s the best way to fly to Australia on a one-way trip?
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