We found the 10 cheapest flights you can still book this summer
All 10 of the cheapest flights from the UK this summer are with Ryanair, or its partner Malta Air.
That’s what we found when we asked Skyscanner for the cheapest return flights for July and August.
The very cheapest flights for summer 2024 are both from Stansted in London – to Dublin and to Aarhus in Denmark, (home of Legoland), for £30 return.
These fares only include a bag you can fit under the seat in front of you. But even when we added a cabin bag on the 10 cheapest routes, which often cost significantly more than the price of the ticket, Ryanair was cheaper than competitor airlines.
Below we’ve broken down the airfare to show you how to get the best deal, even if you do need to pay extra to take luggage and the family.
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Is Ryanair really the UK’s cheapest airline?
The real catch with Ryanair is the times of the flights. Seven of the 10 trips include flights that are either very early, or very late. In some cases you’ll need to arrive at the airport at 4am.
For your Mallorca flight you’d arrive in Palma at one o’clock in the morning - then have to be at the airport a week later for your return trip at around four in the morning to get a 6.15am flight.
For Bristol to the Costa Brava you’d arrive well after midnight both arriving and on your return home - well after any public transport has closed. If your flight is so early or so late that there is no public transport, a taxi is likely to be a significant extra cost.
These Ryanair fares are unbeatable, but you need to take into account other factors that mean you’ll spend more.
The cheapest flight deals for July and August
Route | Headline price per person, return flights | Price for a couple, each with cabin luggage | Price for a couple with cabin luggage + 20kg hold luggage | Price for family of four (2 adults, 2 children under-11), with cabin luggage + 20kg hold luggage |
£30 | £134 | £171 | £250 | |
£48 | £202 | £290 | £443 | |
£34 | £176 | £243 | £405 | |
£48 | £193 | £278 | £453 | |
£34 | £157 | £201 | £323 | |
£38 | £183 | £251 | £405 | |
£32 | £162 | £246 | £378 |
Basic prices supplied by Skyscanner and checked on 26 June 2024. Prices are likely to increase the closer you get to the departure date.
How to get the best deal with Ryanair this summer
For most of the flights you’d pay more to take a case into the cabin and put it in an overhead locker than you would for the basic airfare.
A couple snapping up a July flight to Girona, near Spain’s Costa Brava, would pay £64 (£32 each) if they were prepared to travel with nothing more than they could fit in a bag under their seat - and not worry about sitting together.
If they both wanted to put a bag in the overhead locker they’d pay £162. If they wanted to check-in a suitcase as well they’d pay £246. If they wanted to take two young children with them they’d pay £378.
This is based on choosing Ryanair’s Regular ticket, which includes cabin luggage and a guaranteed seat, or its Family Plus, which includes cabin luggage for all four passengers plus one 20kg bag.
You can reduce that price by carefully choosing how much luggage you want. For example, you don’t need Family Plus. You can just add three 10kg cabin cases instead of four, if you think that’s all you’ll need. It’s cheaper.
See our guide to how to get the best prices with Ryanair.
Could you get a better deal with a different airline?
Ryanair has extremely cheap fares on some routes at some times. If there’s a lack of demand it will lower prices rather than fly with empty seats.
However, remember that many other airlines – such as Jet2, British Airways, KLM and others – include cabin luggage in the basic price. They also almost always seat families and friends together, without making them pay extra for seat selection.
When we looked at flight prices at Easter British Airways, easyJet and Jet2 had cheaper prices than Ryanair on some routes after factoring in luggage and other extras.
Price is not the only consideration. Ryanair consistently does badly in our guide to the best and worst airlines.
Are package holidays cheaper than flights?
Package holidays can often be cheaper than buying hotels and flights separately. We looked at 10 holidays last year and for seven of them it was cheaper to book all-inclusive than arrange everything yourself.
It usually pays to book package holidays in advance but we’ve found that there are still bargain holidays available this summer.
How to find cheap flights for your next holiday
If you know where you want to go, it’s usually cheaper to book flights further in advance. Set up a flight alert with Google flights or Skyscanner and you’ll be emailed when the price changes.
Skyscanner also has a tool which will tell you when the best time is to book - based on when flights were cheapest last year.
For example, if your heart was set on flying to Bangkok at Christmas from London, its tool says you’d be best off booking 16 weeks ahead. That would be mid-September.
