Europe Unlocked Research
In 2026, summer holiday flights booked in February or March cost about a third more with Ryanair than booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead. The last week cost most.
Written By Rick Blyth
Happiest at 36,000ft as the sun rises above the clouds
5 min read
Published on 11th November 2026
In 2026, booking summer holiday flights early didn't pay off. With Ryanair, flights booked in February or March cost about a third more than the same flights booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead. Leaving it to the last week was worse still: the fare more than doubled.
This is what happened to one summer's flights, followed from January right up to departure.
Summer flights booked in February or March cost about a third more with Ryanair than booking 6 to 8 weeks ahead.
5,625 Ryanair flights, summer 2026
Ryanair fares were cheapest 4 to 8 weeks before departure, typically just under £38 one way.
33,973 flights, March to November 2026
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.
25,804 flights 6 to 8 weeks out, 12,329 six months out and 21,854 in the last 3 days
We took the same flights out of the UK in the 2026 summer holidays (18th July to 1st September) and looked at what they cost depending on when you booked.
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). Our tracking began on 17th January.
| 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.
Booked in February, Ryanair's summer flights cost 36% more than booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead. In March it was 32% more, and even in January, as soon as our tracking began, it was 33% more.
The gap closed through the spring: 23% more in April, 7% in May and just 1% in June. Then the last week undid it all. Booked in the last week, the same flights cost 112% more, typically £109 one way against £51.
And it wasn't just a few dear flights pulling the typical fare up. Booked in February or March, fewer than 1 in 5 Ryanair summer flights was noticeably cheaper than booking 6 to 8 weeks ahead.
easyJet followed a gentler version of the same pattern. Booked in February or March, its summer flights cost 17% and 18% more than 6 to 8 weeks ahead. By May the gap was down to 1%, and in June it was about the same.
The last week cost 16% more with easyJet, a far smaller jump than Ryanair's.
📬 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
This is what happened in 2026, on the flights we tracked. One summer can't tell you what the next one will do, so read it as a record, not a forecast.
What it does show is that in 2026, the cheapest time to book summer holiday flights wasn't the earliest. Of the points we show, it was 6 to 8 weeks ahead, inside the 4 to 8 week window that was cheapest for Ryanair all year. There's more on that in the best time to book Ryanair flights and the best time to book flights to Europe.
The day you fly mattered too: Tuesday was the cheapest day to fly out of the UK and Wednesday the cheapest to fly home. See the cheapest day to fly to Europe, and for the whole year, month by month, the cheapest month to fly to Europe.
📌 Key points
- In 2026, Ryanair summer holiday flights booked in February or March cost about a third more than booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead.
- The gap closed through the spring, to just 1% in June.
- Booked in the last week, the same Ryanair flights cost 112% more.
- easyJet's gap was smaller: 17% and 18% more in February and March, 16% more in the last week.
- It's one summer's record, not a forecast for the next.
In 2026, of the points we tracked, it was about 6 to 8 weeks before departure. Ryanair summer holiday flights booked in February or March cost about a third more than that, and in the last week more than double.
Not in 2026. Ryanair summer holiday flights booked in January cost 33% more than booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead, and in February 36% more. With easyJet, February was 17% more.
In 2026, booking early didn't pay off: early bookings cost more with both Ryanair and easyJet. One summer can't tell you what the next will do, but leaving it to the last week cost the most of all.
Up to a point. In 2026, summer holiday flights got cheaper through the spring until about 6 to 8 weeks before departure. Then they got dearer again: Ryanair's cost 112% more in the last week.
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, summer or not.
