Europe Unlocked Research
Ryanair fares were lowest 4 to 8 weeks before departure in our 2026 tracking. Six months early cost over a third more, and the last few days more than double.
Written By Rick Blyth
Happiest at 36,000ft as the sun rises above the clouds
8 min read
Published on 11th November 2026
Book Ryanair flights 4 to 8 weeks before you fly. That's when fares were lowest in our 2026 tracking, typically just under £38 one way. Book 6 months early and you'd have paid over a third more. Leave it to the last 2 to 3 days and the fare more than doubled.
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.
This page is the Ryanair 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.
Here's every point we tracked, from 6 months out to the last few days. Each flight is compared with its own fare 6 to 8 weeks before it left, so a cheap route and a dear one can be compared fairly.
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.
The cheap window is wide: from about 8 weeks out to about 3 weeks out, fares barely moved. Either side of it, they climbed. Slowly the earlier you went, and fast in the last fortnight: 29% higher 1 to 2 weeks out, 80% higher 4 to 7 days out and 142% higher in the last 2 to 3 days.
Here's what that looks like on one real flight, priced every day for six months.
A real flight, picked because it shows the pattern clearly. It's at the steep end: across 27,237 Ryanair flights, the typical rise in the last days was 142%.
Booking early feels like the safe thing to do, but with Ryanair it cost more. Six months out, fares were typically 38% higher than 6 to 8 weeks out.
It wasn't a one-off either. For every month of flights we could follow from 6 months out, booking that early cost more. Here's each month, with booking 6 months early on the left and the last 2 to 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 2 to 3 days | 6 months out |
|---|---|---|
| March | +206% | Not tracked |
| April | +215% | Not tracked |
| May | +129% | Not tracked |
| June | +115% | Not tracked |
| July | +131% | +37% |
| August | +196% | +34% |
| September | +52% | +31% |
| October | +159% | +47% |
| November (1st to 7th) | +92% | +63% |
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.
Summer was the same story. Summer holiday flights booked in February or March cost about a third more than the same flights booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead. There's more in the best time to book summer holiday flights.
The chart above shows the other end too. In every month we tracked, the last 2 to 3 days cost more, and in 7 of the 9 months the fare more than doubled. Even in the mildest month, September, it was 52% higher. In April it was 215% higher, over three times the fare.
So the last-minute jump isn't a summer thing, or a school holiday thing. It's how Ryanair fares behaved all year.
Ryanair at Manchester Airport.
Sometimes, but less and less as the day gets closer. Here's what happened when we checked a fare and 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 fare was more likely to drop than rise over the next week. At 8 to 10 weeks out, 47% dropped and 33% rose, but only by a few pounds: typically about £6 down or £7 up.
✈️ 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, typically by about £40. It dropped only 16% of the time, and then typically by about £14.
How the other airlines compare is in do flights get cheaper closer to the date?
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The last-minute jump wasn't the same everywhere. Of the 162 Ryanair routes with enough flights to measure, only 7 got cheaper in the last week. Here are some of the routes from London Stansted, Ryanair's biggest UK base:
The typical flight's change on flights out of the UK leaving late May to early November 2026. 198 to 902 flights per route.
| Route | Last week, against 6 to 8 weeks out |
|---|---|
| London Stansted to Berlin | +238% |
| London Stansted to Dublin | +224% |
| London Stansted to Budapest | +105% |
| London Stansted to Lisbon | +97% |
| London Stansted to Barcelona | +73% |
| London Stansted to Malaga | +55% |
| London Stansted to Palma de Mallorca | +34% |
| London Stansted to Faro | +13% |
The typical flight's change on flights out of the UK leaving late May to early November 2026. 198 to 902 flights per route.
Berlin and Dublin rose the most of these, Faro and Palma the least. If you're flying to Budapest or Barcelona, the cheap window matters: leaving it to the last week cost 105% and 73% more on those routes.
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 Ryanair flights booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead, Tuesday was the cheapest day to fly out, 23% below the week's average, and Wednesday the cheapest day to fly home, 21% below. Friday out and Sunday home cost the most. There's more on both in the cheapest day to fly to Europe and what days are cheaper to book flights.
📌 Key points
- Ryanair fares were lowest 4 to 8 weeks before departure, typically just under £38 one way.
- Booking 6 months early cost 38% more.
- The last 2 to 3 days cost 142% more, and the jump showed up in every month we tracked.
- Two months or more out, waiting a week was a small gamble. In the last fortnight, it was a big one.
- Only 7 of 162 Ryanair routes got cheaper in the last week.
About 4 to 8 weeks before you fly. In our 2026 fare tracking, that's when Ryanair fares were lowest, typically just under £38 one way. Booking 6 months early cost 38% more, and the last 2 to 3 days 142% more.
Booked 4 to 8 weeks ahead, and flying out on a Tuesday or home on a Wednesday. For flights booked 6 to 8 weeks ahead, Tuesday out was 23% below the week's average and Wednesday home 21% below.
Sometimes, but rarely by much. Two months or more out, a fare was more likely to drop than rise over the next week, typically by about £6. In the last fortnight, 7 times in 10 it went up instead, typically by about £40.
Not usually. Ryanair fares were typically 142% higher in the last 2 to 3 days than 6 to 8 weeks out, and only about 1 in 10 flights got cheaper. Only 7 of the 162 Ryanair routes we measured got cheaper in the last week.
It barely matters. The day of the week you book changed Ryanair fares by 0.3% or less. The day you fly makes far more difference: Tuesday out and Wednesday home were the cheapest.
Rarely. About 1 in 10 Ryanair flights was cheaper in the last 2 to 3 days than 6 to 8 weeks out. Across all of them, the typical fare was 142% higher.
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