Europe Unlocked Research
We tracked over 750,000 flights in 2026, with over 376 million price checks. Ryanair was cheapest 4 to 8 weeks out, easyJet 6 to 12.
Written By Rick Blyth
Happiest at 36,000ft as the sun rises above the clouds
10 min read
Published on 11th November 2026
Updated on 12th November 2026
Book Ryanair 4 to 8 weeks ahead and easyJet 6 to 12 weeks ahead. In our 2026 fare tracking, booking 6 months early cost over a third more with Ryanair, and the last few days cost the most: Ryanair fares more than doubled.
754,049
flights tracked, Jan to Nov 2026
376,859,230
price checks, Jan to Nov 2026
45
airlines, Jan to Nov 2026
Cheapest time to bookRyanair4 to 8 weeksbefore departure
Ryanair fares were cheapest 4 to 8 weeks before departure, typically just under £38 one way.
Measured across 33,973 Ryanair flights priced 6 to 8 weeks before they left, March to November 2026.
Best time to book Ryanair flights →
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.
Best time to book easyJet flights →
Cheapest time to bookWizz Air5 to 12 weeksbefore departure
Wizz Air fares were cheapest 5 to 12 weeks before departure, typically £43 one way. Booking 6 months early cost 11% more, and the last 3 days 118% more.
Measured across 2,935 Wizz Air flights on 35 routes priced 6 to 8 weeks out, 1,107 priced 6 months out and 2,152 in the last 3 days.
Best time to book Wizz Air flights →
The odd one outJet229% lowertypically, in the last 3 days
Jet2 was the odd one out: its fares usually fell close to departure, typically by 29%. About 1 in 5 got dearer.
Measured across 8,365 Jet2 flights priced both 6 to 8 weeks out and in the last 3 days: 76% were cheaper at the end and 20% dearer.
Booking 8 weeks or more ahead, a Ryanair fare was more likely to drop than rise the following week, but only by a few pounds either way. In the last fortnight, 7 times in 10 the fare was higher a week later, typically by about £40.
Measured across 444,551 Ryanair fare checks 8 to 10 weeks out and 225,853 1 to 2 weeks out, each looked at again a week later.
Tuesday was the cheapest day to fly out and Wednesday the cheapest to fly home, both about a fifth below average. Friday out and Sunday home cost the most.
Measured across 113,538 Ryanair and easyJet flights booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead, each day against the week's average on the same routes.
0.3% or less
The day of the week you book made almost no difference: 0.3% or less.
Measured across 7,151,170 daily prices: the same flights, priced on one day against the days either side.
About 60% more
Easter flights cost about 60% more than the weeks either side.
Measured across 3,571 Ryanair and easyJet flights out of England in the Easter holidays and 5,356 on the same days of the week in the 2 weeks either side.
| Booked | Ryanair | easyJet | Wizz Air | Jet2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months | +38% | +17% | +11% | +33% |
| 3 months | +18% | +2% | +7% | +21% |
| 6 to 8 weeks | Baseline | Baseline | Baseline | Baseline |
| 2 to 3 weeks | +11% | +6% | +27% | -13% |
| 1 to 2 weeks | +29% | +8% | +44% | -19% |
| 4 to 7 days | +80% | +18% | +67% | -24% |
| Last few days | +142% | +31% | +118% | -29% |
Each flight compared with its own fare 6 to 8 weeks out, flights leaving March to November 2026. Ryanair's last price is 2 to 3 days before departure, the others' usually the day before.
Averages are useful, but they can feel a bit abstract. So here are two real flights, priced every day for six months. They're at the steep end, picked because they show the pattern clearly.
One real Ryanair flight. Across 27,237 Ryanair flights, the typical rise in the last days was 142%.
The Ryanair flight cost more for months, dipped to £30 eight weeks out, then climbed through the last fortnight to £395 two days before.
One real easyJet flight, at the extreme end. Across 21,854 easyJet flights, the typical rise in the last 3 days was 31%.
The easyJet one was £34 eight weeks out and £552 two days before. Book in the cheap window and the same seat cost a fraction of the price.
Ryanair fares were at their lowest from about 4 to 8 weeks before departure, typically just under £38 one way. Before that, the same flights cost more the further out you went: 38% more 6 months out.
Then the last weeks bite. Compared with 6 to 8 weeks out, Ryanair fares were typically 11% higher 2 to 3 weeks out, 29% higher 1 to 2 weeks out, 80% higher 4 to 7 days out, and 142% higher in the last 2 to 3 days.
Measured across 15,362 to 33,973 Ryanair 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 2 to 3 days | +142% | £110 |
| 4 to 7 days | +80% | £84 |
| 1 to 2 weeks | +29% | £59 |
| 2 to 3 weeks | +11% | £49 |
| 3 to 4 weeks | About the same | £42 |
| 4 to 5 weeks | About the same | £38 |
| 5 to 6 weeks | About the same | £37 |
| 6 to 8 weeks | Our baseline | £37 |
| 8 to 10 weeks | +3% | £40 |
| 10 to 12 weeks | +11% | £44 |
| 12 to 14 weeks | +18% | £47 |
| 14 to 16 weeks | +24% | £51 |
| 16 to 18 weeks | +29% | £53 |
| 18 to 20 weeks | +35% | £54 |
| 20 to 22 weeks | +38% | £55 |
| 22 to 24 weeks | +39% | £56 |
| 24 to 26 weeks | +38% | £56 |
Each flight compared with its own fare 6 to 8 weeks out. 15,362 to 33,973 flights at each point, leaving March to November 2026. One-way base fares. 24 to 26 weeks is about 6 months.
There's more on Ryanair, route by route and month by month, in the best time to book Ryanair flights.
easyJet's pattern is gentler. Fares were flat from about 6 to 12 weeks out, typically £77. Booking 6 months early cost 17% more, and the last 3 days 31% more.
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.
Gentler on average doesn't mean safe, though, as the London Gatwick to Madrid flight above shows. There's more on easyJet, route by route and month by month, in the best time to book easyJet flights.
Of the four airlines we followed week by week, only Jet2's typical fare was lower close to departure. We priced 8,365 Jet2 flights both 6 to 8 weeks ahead and in the last 3 days. 76% were cheaper at the end, and the typical change was a fall of 29%, about £31. But about 1 in 5 (20%) got dearer.
Measured across 5,898 to 11,643 Jet2 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 | -29% | £80 |
| 4 to 7 days | -24% | £88 |
| 1 to 2 weeks | -19% | £95 |
| 2 to 3 weeks | -13% | £100 |
| 3 to 4 weeks | -9% | £104 |
| 4 to 5 weeks | -6% | £109 |
| 5 to 6 weeks | -2% | £113 |
| 6 to 8 weeks | Our baseline | £119 |
| 8 to 10 weeks | +4% | £129 |
| 10 to 12 weeks | +15% | £143 |
| 12 to 14 weeks | +21% | £150 |
| 14 to 16 weeks | +26% | £158 |
| 16 to 18 weeks | +28% | £161 |
| 18 to 20 weeks | +31% | £160 |
| 20 to 22 weeks | +33% | £160 |
| 22 to 24 weeks | +34% | £158 |
| 24 to 26 weeks | +33% | £157 |
Each flight compared with its own fare 6 to 8 weeks out. 5,898 to 11,643 flights at each point, leaving March to November 2026. One-way base fares. 24 to 26 weeks is about 6 months.
It wasn't a straight line, either. The typical Jet2 fare sat high from 6 months out to about 4 months, then slid down over several months, not just at the last minute. Along the way, almost every flight's fare went up at some point, and the last 3 days were the cheapest point for only 43% of flights.
Here's the range, from a big fall to dearer at the end:
| Flight | 6 months out | 6 to 8 weeks out | Last 3 days | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A big fall: Leeds Bradford to Alicante, 4th September | £179 | £170 | £60 | -65% |
| About typical: London Stansted to Alicante, 28th October | £64 | £48 | £35 | -27% |
| No real change: Leeds Bradford to Palma de Mallorca, 30th October | £67 | £48 | £48 | +2% |
| Got dearer: Manchester to Alicante, 25th August | £77 | £58 | £72 | +24% |
| Rose, then fell: Manchester to Tenerife, 24th August | £108 | £160 | £94 | -41% |
| Fell, then rose: Birmingham to Alicante, 20th October | £195 | £57 | £70 | +23% |
Change is the last 3 days against 6 to 8 weeks out. Picked by a fixed rule to show the range of what happened, from the 4,398 Jet2 flights we priced at every point from 6 months out. Each fare is the typical price in that period, rounded down. Not a random sample.
Wizz Air fares were lowest from about 5 to 12 weeks out, typically £43 one way, then climbed hard: 118% higher in the last 3 days. Booking 6 months early cost 11% more. It's a smaller part of our tracking, 35 routes, most of them from London Luton and London Gatwick.
One real Wizz Air flight: £32 six weeks out, £220 the day before. Across 2,152 Wizz Air flights, the typical rise in the last 3 days was 118%.
There's more in the best time to book Wizz Air flights.
It depends how far away your trip is. We checked Ryanair fares, then checked the same flights again a week later:
Checked 24 to 26 weeks outAbout as likely to go either way
▲▲▼▼20% higher, typically £6 more24% lower, typically £4 less
Checked 8 to 10 weeks outMore often cheaper a week later
▲▲▲▼▼▼▼▼33% higher, typically £7 more47% lower, typically £6 less
Checked 4 to 5 weeks outWaiting more often cost more
▲▲▲▲▲▼▼▼45% higher, typically £11 more33% lower, typically £7 less
Checked 1 to 2 weeks outWaiting more often cost more
▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▼▼70% higher, typically £40 more16% lower, typically £14 less
Measured across 4,461,106 Ryanair 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 | 70% (typically £40 more) | 16% (typically £14 less) |
| 2 to 3 weeks out | 54% (typically £18 more) | 28% (typically £11 less) |
| 3 to 4 weeks out | 51% (typically £14 more) | 29% (typically £8 less) |
| 4 to 5 weeks out | 45% (typically £11 more) | 33% (typically £7 less) |
| 5 to 6 weeks out | 41% (typically £9 more) | 36% (typically £7 less) |
| 6 to 8 weeks out | 35% (typically £7 more) | 42% (typically £7 less) |
| 8 to 10 weeks out | 33% (typically £7 more) | 47% (typically £6 less) |
| 10 to 12 weeks out | 31% (typically £6 more) | 47% (typically £6 less) |
| 12 to 14 weeks out | 28% (typically £6 more) | 46% (typically £6 less) |
| 14 to 16 weeks out | 27% (typically £6 more) | 41% (typically £5 less) |
| 16 to 18 weeks out | 25% (typically £6 more) | 39% (typically £5 less) |
| 18 to 20 weeks out | 24% (typically £6 more) | 35% (typically £5 less) |
| 20 to 22 weeks out | 24% (typically £5 more) | 31% (typically £4 less) |
| 22 to 24 weeks out | 21% (typically £6 more) | 27% (typically £4 less) |
| 24 to 26 weeks out | 20% (typically £6 more) | 24% (typically £4 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.
✈️ Two months or more out: a Ryanair fare was more likely to drop than rise over the following week. Checked 8 to 10 weeks out, 47% were lower a week later and 33% higher, but the moves were small: typically about £6 down or £7 up.
✈️ In the last fortnight: 7 times in 10 a Ryanair fare was higher a week later, typically by about £40. It was lower only 16% of the time, and then typically by about £14.
So early on, waiting a week is a small gamble. Late on, it's a big one.
There's more, airline by airline, in do flights get cheaper closer to the date?
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. Tuesday was the cheapest day to fly out and Wednesday the cheapest to fly home, both about a fifth below average. Friday out and Sunday home cost the most. If you can be flexible, a midweek trip is the easy win. There's more in the cheapest day to fly to Europe and what days are cheaper to book flights.
Flying out at Easter cost about 60% more than the weeks either side, the biggest jump going out of any school holiday we tracked (England airports). May half term cost about 35% more and the summer holidays about 15% more. October half term cost about the same going out, but about 85% more coming home.
Flights out of airports in England, each booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead, against the same routes on the same day of the week in the 2 weeks either side, rounded to the nearest 5%. At Easter: 124 Ryanair, 108 easyJet, 60 Jet2, 17 Wizz Air routes. Wizz Air had no prices for the 2 weeks after May half term.
| Holiday | Ryanair | easyJet | Jet2 | Wizz Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easter | +65% | +60% | +60% | +95% |
| May half term | +35% | +35% | +25% | Not enough prices |
| Summer holidays | +15% | +10% | +10% | +25% |
| October half term | +10% | About the same | About the same | +15% |
Flights out of airports in England, each booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead, against the same routes on the same day of the week in the 2 weeks either side, rounded to the nearest 5%. At Easter: 124 Ryanair, 108 easyJet, 60 Jet2, 17 Wizz Air routes. Wizz Air had no prices for the 2 weeks after May half term.
Of the months we covered, July was the dearest month to fly and November one of the cheapest. So if you can go in the quieter months, outside the school holidays, the same trip costs a lot less.
We've looked at every holiday day by day, flying out and flying home, in are flights more expensive in school holidays?, and month by month in the cheapest month to fly to Europe. And if you're booking summer flights, see the best time to book summer holiday flights.
We also looked at 12 UK airports one by one, one airline at a time. Each has its own page with its figures, how its fares moved before departure and Ryanair to Dublin like for like.
From Belfast International we tracked enough flights for two figures:
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📌 Key points
- Ryanair was cheapest 4 to 8 weeks out, easyJet 6 to 12 weeks out.
- Booking 6 months early cost over a third more with Ryanair.
- The last fortnight cost the most: Ryanair fares more than doubled in the last few days.
- Jet2 was the exception: 3 in 4 of its flights got cheaper close to departure, though about 1 in 5 got dearer.
- The day you book barely matters. The day you fly does: Tuesday out, Wednesday home.
In our 2026 fare tracking, Ryanair flights were cheapest 4 to 8 weeks before departure and easyJet flights 6 to 12 weeks before. Booking 6 months early cost more, and the last two weeks cost the most.
Usually not. With Ryanair and easyJet, fares rose in the last few weeks, and Ryanair's more than doubled in the last few days. Jet2 was the exception: 3 in 4 of its flights got cheaper close to departure, though about 1 in 5 got dearer.
Not usually. Ryanair fares were typically 142% higher in the last 2 to 3 days than 6 to 8 weeks out, and easyJet's 31% higher in the last 3 days. Some flights did get cheaper, but they were the minority.
It barely matters: the day of the week you book changed the price by 0.3% or less. The day you fly matters more. Tuesday was the cheapest day to fly out and Wednesday the cheapest to fly home.
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We've done the searching, so you don't have to. Find city breaks from your airport, with lots under £100, or see every trip leaving in the next 14 days.
