Cost of flights summer 2026 - huge increase

[Ozgirl76]

In 2023 we went to Corfu - we paid 990 for 4 of us with easyJet. Civilised flight time (10.30am), we paid for 2 hold bags. This was leaving on 11 July, returning 9 days later from Gatwick.

We’d like to go back next year and I’ve just looked at flights - the cheapest at a civilised time is with BA and they want £1600!

Does anyone have any tips and tricks as to getting a flight a bit cheaper? I can’t believe they’ve gone up this much. I would happily go with easyJet but their flights are all at 5am or in the evening.

Bizarre

you aren’t remotely comparing like for like

BA would have been much more last year too

EasyJet aren’t offering so you can’t compare

We’ve done 5:45 flights in recent years with the dc (but they’re mostly older now), either staying at the airport the night before or driving to the airport in the morning.
Lots of benefits including cheaper flights and the airports are less congested, roads are quieter and less chances for flight backlogs. Once we were delayed on the tarmac by about 30 minutes because of early
morning fog but honestly I way prefer a super early flight.

Thing is, we don’t live very close to the airport and if you stay over, doesn’t it wipe out any cost benefit of the early flight?

I’m not sure what you mean?

You are comparing a flight from last year with EJ
With a flight this year from BA

BA would have been much more expensive that EJ last year

Do you live in the uk? I thought you lived in Sydney! (I was in another thread with you!)

Your issue is more “summer 2026 - EasyJet no longer has flights at the time I want for where I want to go”

The saving is £600 if you stay overnight and fly EasyJet at 5am. You can stay in a family room in Dunstable premier inn 5 miles away for £52 in August so I’d do that.

Also easyJet has flights at 7.30 or 3.20pm in August next year, maybe you need to change your dates.

Everything was cheaper 3 years ago!

I actually missed the Op was referring to 3 years ago 😆!!!

You are comparing airlines with very different pricing profiles. E.g. I'm flying to Helsinki later this week with Ryanair and it's costing £109 return. Similarly timed flights with BA would be over £200 each way. Sure the BA fares includes a hold bag butI only need an additional cabin bag and still comes in way over even if I added one to my fare.

We do live in Sydney but we’re doing a side trip from when we come over for our summer family visit.
I knew things would go up a bit, I was just surprised that they had increased by 60% in 3 years. The place we’re staying has gone up but only by about 12%

So just to be clear the Op is comparing

2026 pricing with 2023
BA with Easyjet

It is odd that you seem perplexed by the price increase OP!

I would much prefer to fly with easyJet but they only have very early morning flights whereas when we flew with them last time we flew mid morning.

But it didn’t go up by 60%. You don’t know what it went up by because you also changed to a more expensive option.

But you’d only know if increased by 60% if you’d booked with BA in 2023!!

To be fair to me - easyJet is coming in at £1800, so more expensive than BA and at much worse times.

OK, so that means that you're going to have to pay more to fly with BA or go for the early morning flight.

The flight that you did last time is no longer available so you need to consider alternative options.

To reiterate, BA is the cheapest possible option.

Even easyJet, flying at 5.30am is £200 more than BA.

I've Just booked our flights for next year. BA is equivalent to EJ when you factor in all the add ons (larger cabin bag, sitting together) plus flight times are better.
Our flights are double what they were for same time last year.

Op you are going to wind everyone up. Unless you know what the BA mid morning fares for July 2023 were you cannot keep moaning that prices have gone up by 60%. You are comparing apples and oranges!

Yes prices will probably have increased. Maybe look at where you can fly to mid morning from Gatwick and go a different place.

Oh wow, yes I know. That’s literally the point of this thread - to comment on how much flights have gone up in 3 years. I know I’ll have to pay more, I just wasn’t expecting it to be this much more.

Ah xpost. Well everything has gone up then!