Tuesday cheapest day to fly with British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair

New research from Which? Travel reveals the best days and times to travel to cut the cost of flying.

Holidaymakers that can be flexible about the time and day they travel could make huge savings on the cost of their trip, according to new research from Which? Travel.

The consumer group has found that travelling mid-week rather than on Fridays or weekends can produce the most savings.

The research

Which? analysed 1,174 flights during August that were due to go out and return in September. The traveller profile was of a single person with one piece of checked-in luggage.

The research tracked British Airways flights between Heathrow and Barcelona, easyJet journeys between Gatwick and Alicante and Ryanair services between Stansted and Dublin.

Midweek moneysavers

Outbound flights on a Tuesday were found to be the cheapest across the three airlines.

With easyJet, a trip to Alicante was found to cost on average 35% - or £28 - more when travelling on a Friday compared to a Tuesday.

A similar pattern was found with return flights.

Which? found that Sunday was the most expensive day to return to the UK.  

With easyJet a return flight to Gatwick from Alicante would cost an average of 45% - or £56 - more on a Sunday than if you got back on a Thursday.

For a family of four, you could potentially save an average of £112 on outbound flights and £224 on return flights by picking the right day.

Perfect timing

The research also revealed that flying at certain times can save money too. This varied with the airline.

easyJet’s most expensive outbound flights were in the morning between 5.45am and 11.50am. In contrast, British Airways was found to schedule 86% of its cheapest outbound flights in the morning before 7.30am.

However, both easyJet and British Airways typically offered the cheapest return journeys in the evening.

Other ways to cut costs

As well as strategically booking your flights there are other ways to cut the cost of your holiday:

• Taking hand luggage instead of checking in baggage can save you money with low-cost airlines.
• Avoid getting your currency at the airport where rates are less competitive.
• Use an air miles credit card to get money off flights by building up air miles as you spend throughout the year.
• Shop around for the best price on airport parking. Try Purple Parking, parking4less and aph.com.
• Avoid getting charged to use your cards abroad. See the best debit cards to use abroad and the best credit cards to use abroad for more.
• Use a prepaid card to avoid overspending. See the best prepaid cards for spending abroad for more.
• Get a free European Health Insurance Card to get access to the same state-provided healthcare you would receive if you were a resident of the European Country you’re visiting. But don’t use this in place of travel insurance.
• Plan your trip using Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor for cheap places to eat and visit.

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