Do Ryanair flights ever get cheaper nearer the time of departure?

[tigwig]

Wanting to go to Majorca for a week towards end of Aug (cant be back later than 2nd Sep). We havent quite got the money yet to book the flights but I priced them up a few weeks ago and looked again yesterday and typically they have gone up. The cheapest I can find is going to be over £800 for 2 adults and 2 kids. We also know where we want to stay and I dont know if I'm brave enough to leave it until a few weeks before and hope to get a good deal! What do others recommend?

[jno]

in theory they could if they were desperate to sell off the last few unsold seats. But that's a gamble; it's just as likely they'll have sold out before then. I wouldn't take it myself if I wanted to be sure of travelling. Sign up to Ryanair's emails (and EasyJet's) and take up offers when they come through; usually it's cheaper the further in advance you book.

[stoofur]

Is Ryanair the cheapest?

Try
http://www.skyscanner.net/
They search different airlines and will let you know the cheapest. You can also search the whole month to find out the cheapest days to fly.

[puternut]

I believe they got dearer the nearer to the take off time ?

[Buenchico]

Airlines hate 'screen scrapers' (which publish their fares, and make booking available, on those screen scraper sites). So they actively seek to block sites like Skyscanner from accessing their fares. (Skyscanner was never perfect but it's even less use now than it used to be).

Ryanair's fares to less popular destinations (such as Frankfurt or Eindhoven) are often placed on 'special offer' a month or two before departure, simply in order to fill the flights. However the fares to 'sunshine destinations', where they can fill the flights anyway, simply get dearer as time goes by.

You also need to remember that, because of the current economic climate, most budget airlines have cut about a third of their flights. That reduces the total number of seats available, meaning that they can sell nearly all of their tickets at premium prices. (i.e. you'll find very few bargain fares this year, irrespective of the destination or airline).

Tell us which departure airports are suitable for you, and any restrictions on dates (e.g. can you fly mid-week or does it have to be a Saturday?) and we'll seek out the best deal for you.

Chris

[Prudie]

I've also found that the real budget flights - Ryanair, Easyjet etc - have become a bit of a myth for normal people who want to go on hols and take hold luggage. I've recently been able to save over a £100 on a flight to Menorca using a more standard airline because Ryanair added so many extras to the stated price that by the time you confirm it's shot up to a very expensive and non-competitive price.

[tigwig]

I live in West Yorks so can be Leeds/Brad, Manchester, Liverpool, any airport within reasonable driving distance to be fair. I have priced up loads of airlines and used skyscanner etc but they all bring up ryanair as cheapest even though the add ons are £200!
Chris We can go mid week too anytime between 18th and 26th Aug to ensure we are back for Sun 2nd Sep at latest. Dont wnat to do night time flight due to age of kids. Thanks for your help. By the way the cheapest Ive found so far (including extras) is £813.84!

[Buenchico]

Thanks for the information. Here are the airports I'll try for you:

Leeds/Bradford (Jet2, Thomas Cook, Ryanair)

East Midlands (BmiBaby, Jet2, Thomson, Thomas Cook, Ryanair)

Birmingham (BmiBaby, BA, Monarch, Thomson, Ryanair, Thomas Cook)

Manchester (BA, easyJet, Jet2, Thomson, Thomas Cook, Monarch, Ryanair)

Liverpool (easyJet, Ryanair)

Newcastle (easyJet, Jet2, Thomas Cook, Thomson)

Doncaster/Sheffield (Thomas Cook, Thomson)

Durham (Thomson)

Humberside (Thomson)

[Buenchico]

I'll just fill in the info as I find it here. (All prices exclude 'extras' and are with return travel a week after outbound date)

Jet2 ex Leeds/Bradford 23/08 £805.92

Jet2 ex Manchester 21/08 £749.92

Jet2 ex East Midlands 21/08 £673.92

Jet2 ex Newcastle 21/08 £737.92

More to come!

[Buenchico]

Thomson ex Doncaster/Sheffield is quickly ruled out. (Roughly £1000 to £1400)

Similarly, Thomson ex Durham is around £1000

Thomson ex Humberside seems to have been discontinued

Thomson ex East Midlands is over £1000

Thomson ex Birmingham is only (relatively) cheap if you fly out on Tues 21st and come back on Wed 29thbut those are night flights so you probably won't want them (£699.92)

Thomson ex Manchester only has £875.92 as the lowest fare. (21/08)

Thomson ex Newcastle is over £1000

I'll keep trying!

[Buenchico]

easyJet ex Manchester is £804.92 on 21/08

easyJet ex Liverpool is a possibility on 21/08, £692.92 (or £20 less if you take the late flight back)

easyJet ex Newcastle is £784.92 (21/08)

[Buenchico]

BmiBaby ex East Midlands 22/08, £695.92

BmiBaby ex Birmingham 21/08, £695.92

BA's direct flights ex Birmingham & Manchester have been discontinued.

Monarch ex Birmingham 22/08 is £799.92

Monarch ex Manchester 21/08 is £723.92

Thomas Cook ex Leeds/Bradford is over £1100

Thomas Cook ex East Midlands is nearly £1100

Thomas Cook ex Birmingham is over £1000

Thomas Cook ex Manchester is completely sold out (for 7 day periods at the end of August)

Thomas Cook ex Newcastle is over £1100

Thomas Cook ex Doncaster/Sheffield is over £1100

[Buenchico]

Ryanair ex Leeds/Bradford is £675.84 (21/08, 22/08 & 23/08)

Ryanair ex East Midlands is £660.12 (21/08, 22/08, & 23/08)

Ryanair ex Birmingham doesn't go below £794.12 (e.g. 22/08)

Ryanair ex Liverpool is over £850

So, after all that lot, it looks like Ryanair might well be the cheapest after all but I'd suggest checking out the total cost (including luggage etc) of Jet2 from East Midlands and BmiBaby ex East Midlands or Birmingham.

Oh well, at least I tried!

Chris

[Hopkirk]

I would check out similar package holidays.

[stoofur]

Wow! Chris. Good work!

[tigwig]

Thanks so much for all that info Chris, really kind of you and much appreciated. I think it will be Ryanair although I'm considering waiting now to see if we can get a last minute bargain. Only thing then would be risk not going to Majorca, we will see! Thanks again.

[jrtv]

Also don't forget you can mix & match, ie go out with Ryanair and come back with Easyjet, go out with Jet2 and come back with Ryanair, etc, I've found many good bargains doing it that way. If you don't leave your car at the airport then you could depart from say Manchester and arrive back at Liverpool or visa versa, plenty off options if your not restricted.

[tigwig]

Ooh yes thanks for reminding me of that, we are doing just that in May when going to Fuerteventura. For some reason I have totally forgotten to price it up individually this time.

[alucky]

Yes, they do. Usually the prices of flights long time in advance are higher than average and they get cheaper if there is not enough demand.

You can get exact price suggestions http://www.airhint.com with the hints of whether to buy or wait.