Air travel is often an expensive affair. This makes it all the more important for consumers to find ways to reduce costs. A recently discovered trick by the technology company Wise could help here: Many airlines allow you to book flight tickets in different currencies, which can result in significant price differences. Wise tested this for various flights and found price differences of up to 250 euros.

Wise has found that choosing a different currency when booking a flight ticket can result in significant savings. For example, a ticket from Munich to Mexico City with Iberia Air costs 1.141 euros when booked from Germany. However, if you change the region to Mexico on the airline's website, the price is 16.415 pesos, which is just 893 euros - a saving of around 247 euros.

Wise's research showed that price differences vary depending on the airline and route. On a route from Frankfurt to Mexico City with Iberia Air, a saving of around 110 euros was found. However, on another route from Berlin to Mexico City with the same airline, the ticket was 39 euros more expensive in euro terms. Similar savings were found on Air France flights from Munich to Mexico City (36 euros) and Frankfurt to Mexico City (31 euros).

Examples of price differences between different airlines:

• Iberia: When booking in foreign currencies, an average of 45 euros could be saved. The savings were particularly high for flights from Munich to Mexico City and Frankfurt to Mexico City.
• Air France: Price differences of an average of 41 euros were found. Booking flights from Munich to New York was particularly worthwhile, where 188 euros less had to be paid in euros.
• KLM: The differences were around 32 euros on average. Here too, significant savings could be achieved on certain routes.
• Pegasus and Easy Jet: Smaller differences of about six and eight euros respectively on average.

• – Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa: Average price difference of nine euros.

Important tips for travelers:

Travelers should compare multiple currencies when booking airline tickets. It is advisable to check the exchange rates carefully to ensure that you are really making a saving. In addition, credit cards and accounts with low exchange rate fees should be used, as many banks charge high fees for payments in foreign currencies. A multi-currency account, such as the one offered by Wise, can be an advantage here. This allows you to hold multiple currencies and exchange them at favorable rates.

For the analysis, flight connections in June 2024 were examined for seven airlines: KLM, Lufthansa, Easy Jet, Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, Air France and Iberia Air. The price differences were determined by comparing the local currency prices with the offered price in euros and evaluated using Google's mid-market exchange rate.

Investigation results in detail:

• KLM: Flights from London to Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Munich as well as from Istanbul to Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Munich were investigated.
• Easy Jet: connections from Berlin and Munich to London, Istanbul and New York City.
• Lufthansa: Flights from Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Munich to London, Istanbul, Mexico City and New York City.
• Turkish Airlines: Similar routes to Lufthansa.
• Pegasus: Connections from Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Munich to Istanbul.
• Air France: routes from Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Munich to London, Istanbul, Mexico City and New York City.
• Iberia: Connections from Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Munich to London, Mexico City and New York City.

The results of the Wise study show that consumers can save significant amounts by cleverly changing the booking currency. The price differences vary depending on the airline and route, but the potential savings are significant enough to consider this trick the next time you book a flight.