Domestic and International Flights

Domestic and International Flights
There’s a lot of associated terms used to describe aviation and the two most common types of flights you’ll hear about are international and domestic (internal) flights.
As you might expect, an international flight is one that travels across national borders, while a domestic or internal flight is a flight within a single country. The terms have nothing to do with distance, which, ironically enough, means that in a country the size of, say, China, a domestic flight may cover more distance than the entire European continent.

Domestic and International flights - Main differences
Domestic and internal flights differ in many other ways, however. Some of these are:

• Price: Domestic flights are usually far cheaper than international flights. This means that, if you’re traveling on a strict budget, it may be worth your while consulting domestic flights and crossing borders by bus or train.

• Services Offered: Depending on the airline, services offered on domestic flights may be severely reduced or even eliminated when compared to services offered on international flights. Regardless of the distance covered, some airlines do not offer meal or snack services on domestic flights. Air Canada, for instance, offers full service on international flights, but not on domestic flights – even when that flight is traveling from Toronto to Vancouver, an estimated 2,800 miles!

• Availability of Flights: Because many different airlines offer international flights, there are more to choose from. Domestic flights, on the other hand, rely on local airlines. For example, it would be very unusual for British Airways to conduct an internal flight in Germany. Your schedule is necessarily limited.

• Choice of Airlines: While the choice of airlines is more limited for domestic flights, it’s worth checking to see if there are specific airlines dedicated to internal flights in the country you’re thinking of. Large airlines usually offer both kinds, but smaller airlines – especially in large countries – often provide discounted internal airfares.

Whether you’re flying internationally or domestically, it’s worth doing your homework! You never know what will turn up.

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