Europe Unlocked Research
easyJet fares were lowest 6 to 12 weeks before departure in our 2026 tracking, typically £77. Six months early cost 17% more, and the last 3 days 31% more.
Written By Rick Blyth
Happiest at 36,000ft as the sun rises above the clouds
8 min read
Published on 11th November 2026
Book easyJet flights 6 to 12 weeks before you fly. That's when fares were lowest in our 2026 tracking, typically £77 one way. Six months early cost about 17% more, and the last 3 days about 31% more.
Cheapest time to bookeasyJet6 to 12 weeksbefore departure
easyJet fares were cheapest 6 to 12 weeks before departure, typically £77. Booking 6 months early cost 17% more, and the last 3 days 31% more.
Measured across 25,804 easyJet flights priced 6 to 8 weeks out, 12,329 priced 6 months out and 21,854 in the last 3 days.
This page is the easyJet part of our study of the best time to book flights to Europe, with more detail: week by week, month by month and route by route. Our tracking goes back 6 months, so we can't say whether booking the day flights go on sale is cheaper.
Here's every point we tracked, from 6 months out to the last few days, each flight against its own fare 6 to 8 weeks before it left:
Measured across 12,329 to 25,804 easyJet flights at each point, leaving March to November 2026, each against its own fare 6 to 8 weeks before it left. One-way base fares.
| Booked | Against 6 to 8 weeks out | Typical fare |
|---|---|---|
| Last 3 days | +31% | £96 |
| 4 to 7 days | +18% | £89 |
| 1 to 2 weeks | +8% | £84 |
| 2 to 3 weeks | +6% | £81 |
| 3 to 4 weeks | +4% | £79 |
| 4 to 5 weeks | +3% | £79 |
| 5 to 6 weeks | +1% | £79 |
| 6 to 8 weeks | Our baseline | £77 |
| 8 to 10 weeks | About the same | £77 |
| 10 to 12 weeks | About the same | £79 |
| 12 to 14 weeks | +2% | £81 |
| 14 to 16 weeks | +8% | £87 |
| 16 to 18 weeks | +14% | £91 |
| 18 to 20 weeks | +16% | £91 |
| 20 to 22 weeks | +18% | £91 |
| 22 to 24 weeks | +18% | £89 |
| 24 to 26 weeks | +17% | £88 |
Each flight compared with its own fare 6 to 8 weeks out. 12,329 to 25,804 flights at each point, leaving March to November 2026. One-way base fares. 24 to 26 weeks is about 6 months.
From about 6 to 12 weeks out, easyJet fares barely moved, typically £77. Further out, they crept up, to 17% more 6 months out. Closer in, they climbed: 8% more 1 to 2 weeks out, 18% more 4 to 7 days out and 31% more in the last 3 days.
easyJet's fares moved much less than Ryanair's. In the last few days, Ryanair fares were 142% higher than 6 to 8 weeks out, easyJet's 31%. Six months out, Ryanair's were 38% higher, easyJet's 17%. There's more on that in the best time to book Ryanair flights.
Gentler on average doesn't mean safe, though. Here's one easyJet flight that went from cheap to eye-watering.
One real easyJet flight, at the extreme end. Across 21,854 easyJet flights, the typical rise in the last 3 days was 31%.
The last-minute rise changed a lot depending on when the flight left. Here's each month, with booking 6 months early on the left and the last 3 days on the right, both against the same flights booked 6 to 8 weeks out:
Each flight compared with its own fare 6 to 8 weeks out. "Not tracked": our tracking began in January, too late to see March, April, May and June flights 6 months out.
| Flights leaving in | Last 3 days | 6 months out |
|---|---|---|
| March | +73% | Not tracked |
| April | +69% | Not tracked |
| May | +27% | Not tracked |
| June | +23% | Not tracked |
| July | +14% | +13% |
| August | +32% | +13% |
| September | +18% | +18% |
| October | +45% | +21% |
| November (1st to 7th) | +59% | +47% |
Each flight compared with its own fare 6 to 8 weeks out. "Not tracked": our tracking began in January, too late to see March, April, May and June flights 6 months out.
For flights in July, the last 3 days cost only 14% more, and the flights were about as cheap 1 to 2 weeks out as 6 to 8 weeks out. For flights in March, the last 3 days cost 73% more, and in October 45% more.
Booking 6 months early cost more in every month we could check, from 13% more for flights in July and August to 47% more for flights in the first week of November.
Sometimes, and more often than Ryanair's. Of the 155 easyJet routes we measured, 50 got cheaper in the last week, against 7 of 162 for Ryanair. And about 1 in 4 easyJet flights cost less in the last 3 days than 6 to 8 weeks out.
But it really does depend on the route:
The typical flight's change on flights out of the UK leaving late May to early November 2026. 65 to 377 flights per route.
| Route | Last week, against 6 to 8 weeks out |
|---|---|
| Bristol to Amsterdam | +88% |
| London Gatwick to Berlin | +88% |
| London Gatwick to Amsterdam | +67% |
| London Gatwick to Paris | +67% |
| London Gatwick to Barcelona | +42% |
| London Gatwick to Rome | +37% |
| London Gatwick to Malaga | +6% |
| London Gatwick to Palma de Mallorca | -1% |
| Birmingham to Rome | -11% |
The typical flight's change on flights out of the UK leaving late May to early November 2026. 65 to 377 flights per route.
Bristol to Amsterdam and London Gatwick to Berlin rose the most of these, 88%. London Gatwick to Rome rose 37%, but Birmingham to Rome got 11% cheaper.
Here's what happened when we checked an easyJet fare, then checked the same flight a week later:
Checked 24 to 26 weeks outAbout as likely to go either way
▲▲▲▼▼24% higher, typically £11 more23% lower, typically £6 less
Checked 8 to 10 weeks outAbout as likely to go either way
▲▲▲▲▼▼▼37% higher, typically £9 more34% lower, typically £9 less
Checked 4 to 5 weeks outAbout as likely to go either way
▲▲▲▲▼▼▼▼43% higher, typically £9 more39% lower, typically £10 less
Checked 1 to 2 weeks outWaiting more often cost more
▲▲▲▲▲▲▼▼63% higher, typically £17 more23% lower, typically £11 less
Measured across 2,433,564 easyJet fare checks, each looked at again a week later. Each marker is one fare in ten; every point we checked is under “See the figures”.
| Checked | A week later it was higher | A week later it was lower |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 weeks out | 63% (typically £17 more) | 23% (typically £11 less) |
| 2 to 3 weeks out | 46% (typically £12 more) | 40% (typically £10 less) |
| 3 to 4 weeks out | 47% (typically £10 more) | 36% (typically £10 less) |
| 4 to 5 weeks out | 43% (typically £9 more) | 39% (typically £10 less) |
| 5 to 6 weeks out | 44% (typically £8 more) | 35% (typically £9 less) |
| 6 to 8 weeks out | 42% (typically £9 more) | 34% (typically £9 less) |
| 8 to 10 weeks out | 37% (typically £9 more) | 34% (typically £9 less) |
| 10 to 12 weeks out | 33% (typically £9 more) | 34% (typically £9 less) |
| 12 to 14 weeks out | 28% (typically £8 more) | 36% (typically £10 less) |
| 14 to 16 weeks out | 23% (typically £8 more) | 37% (typically £10 less) |
| 16 to 18 weeks out | 22% (typically £9 more) | 34% (typically £10 less) |
| 18 to 20 weeks out | 23% (typically £10 more) | 29% (typically £10 less) |
| 20 to 22 weeks out | 23% (typically £10 more) | 28% (typically £9 less) |
| 22 to 24 weeks out | 24% (typically £11 more) | 25% (typically £7 less) |
| 24 to 26 weeks out | 24% (typically £11 more) | 23% (typically £6 less) |
Out of every time we checked a fare at that point. The rest either stayed the same or had no price a week later.
✈️ About 3 to 5 months out: a drop was more likely than a rise. Checked 14 to 16 weeks out, 37% of fares were lower a week later and 23% higher.
✈️ From about 8 to 10 weeks out: rises started to win, just: 37% higher against 34% lower.
✈️ In the last fortnight: 63% of fares were higher a week later, typically by about £17. Only 23% were lower, typically by about £11.
Wondering whether to wait? There's more in do flights get cheaper closer to the date?
📬 Free · Every Sunday
Each email has the best-value trips from Manchester for the following two weeks, found and priced for you.
What lands in your inbox on Sunday
To: you
Booking the summer holidays early felt sensible, but in 2026 it didn't pay off. Here's what the same summer holiday flights cost depending on when they were booked:
| Booked | Ryanair | easyJet |
|---|---|---|
| January (from 17th) | +33% (£62) | +5% (£91) |
| February | +36% (£64) | +17% (£103) |
| March | +32% (£62) | +18% (£108) |
| April | +23% (£60) | +11% (£105) |
| May | +7% (£54) | +1% (£95) |
| June | +1% (£53) | About the same (£95) |
| 6 to 8 weeks before (our baseline) | £51 | £93 |
| In the last week | +112% (£109) | +16% (£109) |
The same flights each time: 5,625 Ryanair and 4,761 easyJet flights out of the UK leaving in the summer holidays (18th July to 1st September), with the typical one-way fare in brackets. Our tracking began on 17th January.
With easyJet, summer holiday flights booked in February or March cost 17% and 18% more than the same flights booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead. Booked in May or June, they cost about the same. With Ryanair, the gap was bigger: about a third more.
That's what happened in 2026. One year of data can't promise the same next summer, but there was no prize for booking first. There's more in the best time to book summer holiday flights.
Barely. The day of the week you book made almost no difference: 0.3% or less, whichever day it was.
The day you fly matters far more. For easyJet flights booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead, Tuesday was the cheapest day to fly out, 21% below the week's average, and Wednesday the cheapest day to fly home, 18% below. Friday out cost 32% more and Sunday home 39% more. There's more on both in the cheapest day to fly to Europe and what days are cheaper to book flights.
📌 Key points
- easyJet fares were lowest 6 to 12 weeks before departure, typically £77 one way.
- Booking 6 months early cost 17% more, and the last 3 days 31% more.
- That's a gentler curve than Ryanair's, but some flights still shot up late.
- 50 of the 155 easyJet routes we measured got cheaper in the last week.
- Tuesday out and Wednesday home were the cheapest days to fly.
About 6 to 12 weeks before you fly. In our 2026 fare tracking, that's when easyJet fares were lowest, typically £77 one way. Booking 6 months early cost 17% more, and the last 3 days 31% more.
Some do, but most don't. About 1 in 4 easyJet flights cost less in the last 3 days than 6 to 8 weeks out, and 50 of the 155 routes we measured got cheaper in the last week. The typical flight still rose 31%.
Not usually. From about 8 to 10 weeks out, an easyJet fare was a little more likely to rise than drop over a week, and in the last fortnight 63% were higher a week later.
Booked 6 to 12 weeks ahead, flying out on a Tuesday or home on a Wednesday. Tuesday out was 21% below the week's average and Wednesday home 18% below.
We can't say. Our tracking goes back 6 months, so we didn't see the day flights went on sale. What we can say is that 6 months out, fares were typically 17% higher than 6 to 8 weeks out.
Yes. Media outlets, websites and other publications are welcome to use them, but must credit Europe Unlocked with a link to this page.
We've done the searching, so you don't have to. Find city breaks from your airport, with lots under £100, or see the best time to book flights to Europe with Ryanair, Jet2 and more.
