The Cheapest Flights to Asia in 2026

Travel demand to Asia continues to surge in 2026. Tokyo sits at the top of many travelers’ bucket lists, Seoul has become a must-visit for its food scene and global pop culture influence, and many countries across Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, draw visitors in record numbers.

But flights to Asia are meaningfully more expensive than comparable routes to Europe right now, with prices climbing since 2025. Fuel costs add up on 12-plus hour flights, and airlines are still operating fewer routes to Asia than to Europe, which limits competition and keeps fares elevated. That said, deals do exist — particularly if you depart from the West Coast.

Dollar Flight Club, which tracks hundreds of thousands of airfare routes annually, analyzed prices for 3,267 flights departing between April 18, 2026, and Jan. 8, 2027, focusing on round-trip economy fares from the 10 largest U.S. airports. The data was pulled in March 2026.

Here are the lowest fares Dollar Flight Club identified from major U.S. airports:

Fares represent the lowest round-trip economy prices identified during Dollar Flight Club’s March 2026 analysis.

While actual fares vary by departure airport and travel dates, this list can help you decide where to fly into — or out of — before connecting to your final destination.

Keep in mind that low airfare doesn’t necessarily correlate to lower travel prices across the board. Tokyo and Seoul, for example, consistently offer low airfares but tend to have higher on-the-ground costs for travelers compared with other Asian cities.

Of the five cheapest airfares identified by Dollar Flight Club, three were from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Perhaps that’s not surprising since it offers some of the shortest flight times to Asia among major mainland U.S. airports, and has a high volume of nonstop flights to Asia.

Airlines at LAX are also adding flights to Asia this year, which could increase competition and put downward pressure on prices. American Airlines, for example, added two more daily flights to Tokyo, which began at the end of March. On June 6, 2026, Delta Air Lines is launching daily service to Hong Kong (HKG) from LAX.

Still, the deals weren’t limited to Los Angeles. Several other major U.S. airports posted competitive fares, too. The list of cheapest flights from the U.S. to Asia also included three flights from Las Vegas, and two flights from Atlanta.

A few cities stand out not only for offering cheap flights from the U.S., but also for budget-friendly hotels, meals, and attractions.

Bangkok consistently ranks among the most affordable gateway cities, delivering big-city energy at a lower cost than other major Asian hubs like Singapore or Hong Kong.

Cheap attractions include Wat Pho, famous for its massive gold-plated Reclining Buddha. Admission is less than $10. It’s home to some of the world’s most impressive shopping malls with both high-end retailers and local flair. Take, for example, Icon Siam, a mall with both luxury designer shops and its own floating market, a type of marketplace common in Southeast Asia where vendors sell goods from boats on a river. (Yes, the mall has a man-made river.)

Speaking of floating markets, the more traditional ones outside the city can be visited by taxi or as part of a tour.

Manila offers a mix of history and modern energy — and because of a favorable exchange rate, it’s one of Southeast Asia’s most affordable major cities.

Intramuros, the centuries-old walled city, offers a glimpse into colonial history. Fort Santiago, a citadel within Intramuros, charges less than $2 for admission.

The Makati district, known for its nightlife and art, is the modern counterpart. Like Bangkok, Manila has serious mall culture: SM Mall of Asia is one of the largest malls in the world, complete with its own Ferris wheel and ice rink (the only one in the Philippines, according to the mall’s website).

Food is where Manila’s value really shines. A full meal of Filipino staples such as adobo (a type of marinated meat considered the unofficial national dish in the Philippines) or sinigang (a popular Filipino soup) at a local carinderia, an open-air food stall, can cost about $2. Night markets are also popular for cheap eats.

About the author

Sally French is co-host of the Smart Travel podcast and a writer on NerdWallet’s travel team. Before joining NerdWallet as a travel rewards expert in 2020, she wrote about travel and credit cards for The New York Times and its sibling site, Wirecutter.

Outside of work, she loves fitness, and she competes in both powerlifting and weightlifting (she can deadlift more than triple bodyweight). Naturally, her travels always involve a fitness component, including a week of cycling up the coastline of Vietnam and a camping trip to the Arctic Circle, where she biked over the sea ice. Other adventures have included hiking 25 miles in one day through Italy’s Cinque Terre and climbing the 1,260 steps to Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi, Thailand.

She lives in San Francisco.