Europe Unlocked Research
They can, but waiting gets riskier the closer you get. In our 2026 tracking, Ryanair fares more than doubled in the last few days, while Jet2's fell.
Written By Rick Blyth
Happiest at 36,000ft as the sun rises above the clouds
9 min read
Published on 11th November 2026
They can, but waiting gets riskier the closer you get, and it depends on the airline. In our 2026 fare tracking, two months or more out, a Ryanair fare was more likely to drop than rise over a week, but only by a few pounds either way. In the last fortnight, 7 times in 10 it was higher a week later, typically by about £40.
And the airline matters a lot. Ryanair fares more than doubled in the last few days, easyJet's rose 31%, and Jet2's typically fell 29%, though about 1 in 5 Jet2 flights got dearer.
This page is part of our study of the best time to book flights to Europe.
Here's each airline from 6 months out to the day it leaves, each flight against its own fare 6 to 8 weeks before it left:
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.
| 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.
✈️ Ryanair: cheapest 4 to 8 weeks out, then up fast. Fares were 29% higher 1 to 2 weeks out and 142% higher in the last 2 to 3 days.
✈️ easyJet: a gentler climb. Fares were 8% higher 1 to 2 weeks out and 31% higher in the last 3 days.
✈️ Jet2: the other way round. Of the four airlines we followed week by week, only Jet2's typical fare was lower close to departure: 29% lower in the last 3 days. 76% of Jet2 flights were cheaper at the end, but about 1 in 5 got dearer, and the fall wasn't a straight line. Here's the range:
| 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.
It depends how far away your flight is. Here's what happened with Ryanair when we checked a fare, then checked the same flight 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 drop was more likely than a rise. Checked 8 to 10 weeks out, 47% of fares were lower a week later and 33% higher.
✈️ From about 6 weeks out: rises started to win, and they got bigger every week.
✈️ In the last fortnight: 7 times in 10 the fare was higher a week later.
easyJet tipped over sooner. From about 8 to 10 weeks out, its fares were a little more likely to rise than drop over a week, 37% against 34%. In the last fortnight, 63% were higher a week later.
There's more on Ryanair, week by week and route by route, in the best time to book Ryanair flights.
Pick your airline and when you fly, and see what usually happened next to fares like yours in our 2026 tracking.
The odds are only half of it. The size of the move matters too.
Early on, the moves were small. Checked 8 to 10 weeks out, a Ryanair fare that dropped was typically about £6 cheaper a week later, and one that rose about £7 dearer. Waiting a week was a coin toss for a few pounds.
Late on, it's lopsided. Checked 1 to 2 weeks out, a Ryanair fare that rose was typically about £40 dearer a week later, while one that dropped was only about £14 cheaper. With easyJet it was about £17 up against £11 down.
So the closer you get, the more you stand to lose and the less you stand to win.
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Usually not, but some are. Here's how many flights cost less in the last few days than 6 to 8 weeks out:
✈️ Ryanair: about 1 in 10. The typical flight cost 142% more.
✈️ easyJet: about 1 in 4. The typical flight cost 31% more.
✈️ Jet2: about 3 in 4. The typical flight cost 29% less.
The route matters too. Only 7 of the 162 Ryanair routes we measured got cheaper in the last week, against 50 of the 155 easyJet routes. And the rises were very different sizes. On Ryanair from London Stansted, for example, Faro was 13% dearer in the last week and Berlin 238% dearer.
Lots of them do. Here's how often the same flight's fare was different from the day before:
| Airline | Different from the day before | Lower | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 48% | 27% | 21% |
| easyJet | 30% | 13% | 16% |
The same flights, priced one day and again the next. 7,151,170 daily prices.
On an average day, about half of Ryanair fares and 3 in 10 easyJet fares had moved since the day before. The moves went both ways: 27% of Ryanair fares were lower than the day before and 21% higher. So the fare you saw yesterday may well be different today.
Ryanair and easyJet flights from the UK up to 26 weeks ahead, each priced one day and again the next, 18th January to 8th November 2026. Days with fewer than 2,000 flights priced are left out, so the lines have gaps.
Late fares were dearer on average, but there are ways round it.
✈️ Be flexible on the day. 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.
✈️ Try other routes and airports. The last-minute rise varied a lot by route. On easyJet, London Gatwick to Palma de Mallorca was 1% cheaper in the last week than 6 to 8 weeks out, while Bristol to Amsterdam was 88% dearer.
✈️ Look at Jet2 if it flies your way. Its fares often fell close to departure, though not always.
📌 Key points
- Flights can get cheaper closer to the date, but it gets less likely, and riskier, the closer you get.
- Two months or more out, waiting a week was a small gamble: a few pounds either way.
- In the last fortnight, 7 times in 10 a Ryanair fare was higher a week later, typically by about £40.
- Ryanair fares more than doubled in the last few days and easyJet's rose 31%. Jet2's typically fell 29%, but about 1 in 5 got dearer.
- About half of Ryanair fares changed from one day to the next.
They can, but usually they don't, and it gets riskier the closer you get. In our 2026 fare tracking, 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. Jet2 was the exception: its typical fare fell 29%, though about 1 in 5 Jet2 flights got dearer.
Some will, but you can't count on it. Two months or more out, a Ryanair fare was more likely to drop than rise over the next week, but typically only by about £6. In the last fortnight, 7 times in 10 it went up instead, typically by about £40.
Day to day, plenty do: on an average day, 27% of Ryanair fares were lower than the day before. But over the last few weeks before departure, Ryanair and easyJet fares mostly went up.
Drops were most common two to three months out. Checked 8 to 12 weeks before departure, 47% of Ryanair fares were lower a week later. Checked in the last fortnight, only 16% were.
Be flexible on the day you fly (Tuesday out and Wednesday home were the cheapest), try other routes and airports, and look at Jet2 if it flies your way, as its fares often fell close to departure, though not always. Or let us do it: we've searched every trip leaving in the next 14 days, free to search.
Not usually. About 1 in 10 Ryanair flights and about 1 in 4 easyJet flights were cheaper in the last few days than 6 to 8 weeks out. Jet2 was different: about 3 in 4 of its flights were cheaper.
Many do. On an average day, 48% of Ryanair fares and 30% of easyJet fares were different from the same flight's fare the day before.
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We've done the searching, so you don't have to. See every trip leaving in the next 14 days, free to search, or find city breaks from your airport, with lots under £100.
