Ask most travelers where flying is cheapest and they’ll name a long haul deal or a famous budget airline. Domestic hops get less attention, even though they’re often where the lowest fares turn up. A short flight inside one country can cost less than a taxi ride to the airport.
The best public ranking from recent years comes from travel platform Agoda. It compared the lowest domestic fares across Asia for late December 2025 departures. The six countries below are the cheapest six on that list, in order.
Thailand
Agoda found Thailand was the top destination for budget friendly domestic flights, with fares starting as low as 6 USD.[1] The example route was Udon Thani to Bangkok, booked at that price.[1] In local currency, that was roughly 285 baht for the second place countries[2], so Thailand’s fare sat well below them.
The low price wasn’t a one route fluke. Thailand’s overall airfares during the holiday period stayed competitive, with other cheap routes including Chiang Mai and Phuket.[3] For a country with heavy tourism and many regional airports, that mix of routes gives travelers plenty of choice.
South Korea
South Korea tied for second place, and its example was Jeju to Seoul. Fares on that route and on Malaysia’s Bario to Miri were available at 9 USD.[1] Jeju is an island, so this is the kind of trip where flying replaces a much longer journey.
Agoda’s figures came from bookings made from September 2025 onwards for departures between December 20 and 31[1]. That’s a busy holiday window, which makes a fare this low more notable. Off peak dates could plausibly be cheaper still, though the data doesn’t say.
Malaysia
Malaysia shared second place with South Korea, with the Bario to Miri route at the same 9 US dollar level. Both towns are in the state of Sarawak on Borneo. Routes like this often serve smaller communities, so a low fare is useful as well as cheap.
Malaysia also did well outside its borders. Agoda reported that Malaysia and Indonesia shared the spotlight for international journeys, with flights from just 25 USD.[1] That suggests low fares are a broader feature of how Malaysian carriers price short routes.
India
India came fourth. The Agoda ranking put its lowest domestic fare at 15 USD.[1] The route behind that number was Guwahati to Agartala, priced at 1,300 rupees.[4]
India’s low cost carriers help explain the pricing. IndiGo, for one, says it dominates the country’s domestic flights space as a low cost carrier[5]. It also offers a fare hold feature, and it advertises locking a fare from 99 rupees[6]. That’s a promotional entry point, not a typical ticket price.
Indonesia
Indonesia followed India, with domestic fares from about 18 US dollars. In rupees, Agoda listed that as 1,600.[4] Thai baht figures put it at 575 baht[2], which lines up with the dollar figure.
Indonesia is a huge island nation, and flying is often the only practical way to move between islands. That makes cheap domestic fares matter more here than in most places. Agoda’s data also shows the country competing well on international routes, alongside Malaysia.
Vietnam
Vietnam rounds out the six, with a domestic fare of 22 USD[1] in the same ranking. That’s still low by global standards. It just looks pricier next to Thailand’s 6 dollar fare.
Japan came next at 25 US dollars, and Taiwan followed at 45. Vietnam’s placement is close, so small shifts in promotions could reorder the bottom of the list. Vietnam did appear on the same ranking as a country worth watching for budget flyers.
A Note on the Numbers
These figures are the lowest fares Agoda customers found on specific routes, not national averages. The data also covers one holiday window, from late December 2025. A different month or a different route could change the order.
Agoda’s list covers Asia only, so it can’t rule out cheap domestic flying elsewhere. Even so, it’s one of the few recent, published comparisons of domestic fares by country. Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and Vietnam are the six that came out lowest.
