Carmen
Travel editor at Reisedrop · 2026-09-20
If you've just moved to Switzerland, your first flight booking probably came with a small shock: the same London route you used to fly for 60 pounds suddenly costs twice that from Zurich. Some of that is real – Kloten is not a budget airport – but a lot of it is habit. Book the Swiss way and the gap shrinks fast. Here's what we've learned from thousands of searches on our own platform.
Why Zurich feels expensive (and when it actually isn't)
Zurich is SWISS's home base, and on routes where SWISS flies with little competition – Zurich to Manchester, say – prices stay firm. But on the big expat corridors things look different: London is served by SWISS, British Airways and easyJet in parallel, and mid-week fares regularly drop under 80 francs return. The same goes for Amsterdam, Lisbon and Barcelona. The rule of thumb: the more airlines on a route, the more normal the prices. Check the route before you assume Switzerland is ripping you off.
The Basel trick every expat learns eventually
EuroAirport Basel is easyJet territory, and it shows: flights to London Gatwick, Porto or Copenhagen are often 30 to 50 percent cheaper than from Zurich. From Zurich main station you're there in about an hour and ten minutes by train. Geneva plays the same role in the west of the country. If you live in Zug or Zurich it won't always be worth the detour – but for a family of four the difference can pay for a nice dinner. Always compare all three airports before booking; our search does that in one go if you add several departure airports.
Booking in CHF, EUR or GBP: does it matter?
Sometimes, yes. Airlines price per market, not per exchange rate, and the same seat can cost less on the German or British version of a booking site. The catch: paying in a foreign currency on a Swiss credit card usually adds a 1.5 to 2.5 percent conversion fee, and some cards add more. Our take after testing this a lot: the currency game rarely beats simply being flexible on dates. One day earlier or later moves prices far more than any exchange-rate arbitrage.
Timing: when the Swiss book, and when you should
Switzerland has its own booking rhythm. School holidays differ by canton, but the big waves are sports holidays in February, spring holidays around Easter, summer from early July and autumn holidays in October. Fly outside those windows and you're often alone on the plane with business travellers. For European routes, six to eight weeks ahead is the sweet spot; for the popular Friday-evening-out, Sunday-evening-back pattern, book earlier – every expat in the country has the same idea.