Research reveals best time to book flights to Spain

The cheapest time to book flights to Spain? Five weeks before, say Skyscanner

Early or last minute? Deciding when the best time is to book flights to Spain has been an almost perennial headache for holidaymakers and Brits who own property in Spain. Book too early and you may be paying way over the odds, but at least you’ve secured your seat and spread the cost more widely.

Book too late and you could snap up a bargain… or be met with an eye-wateringly high fare as the airline decides to squeeze huge profits out of the last remaining seats. There is no exact science, and luck plays as big a part as the type of airline or departure airport you choose, but researchers at flight comparison website Skyscanner have delved into their algorithm to try to answer that internet-age-old question: when is the best time to book?

And the answer for Spain is… five weeks before departure. Whether to you five weeks represents “way in advance” or “uncomfortably last minute” is a matter of opinion, but at least it is good to know that there is a tried and tested formula to these things.

The Skyscanner researchers also found that the cheapest average price for a return flight from the UK to Spain is around €180. Of course, there are often times when you can get away with paying far less or far more than this, but as an average that is a reasonable fare, especially when compared to some other popular destinations.

For flights to Greece, for example, the cheapest average price is around €250 return if booked approximately three weeks before departure. Which is great for relatively last-minute flights to the sunshine, but not so good for forward-planning that trip out to your holiday home.

For Turkey, on the other hand, the best time to book flights was 12 weeks in advance, while for flights to the USA, Skyscanner recommends that you book 21 weeks ahead. However, the average time period was five weeks, making Spain the mean destination in terms of planning, but one of the cheapest in terms of cost.

The results are rather interesting, and appear to contradict both industry experts who urge people to book as early as possible, and the marketing men of websites such as lastminute.com, who would have you believe that leaving it to the last minute is the best way to go.

“Generally, flight prices go up rather than down the closer you get to travel, so the earlier flights are booked, the better,” said Expedia’s Managing Director, Andy Washington, who advises those with a specific destination and dates in mind to book their flights at the earliest available opportunity.

For visiting Spain, that is sound advice. While there are varied fluctuations in cost according to season (summer being understandably more expensive), canny bookers can snaffle the cheapest flights to Málaga as soon as they come on sale for the best price – which is usually up to nine months before.

But if you are simply wishing to get away from it all for a weekend away in the sun, it may be a better strategy to book some time off work and then check out the cheapest deals a few days before you fly. Being flexible on dates and destinations means you can shop around. But if you have your heart jet-set on Málaga (and who could blame you?), you best get booking right away.