We’ll let you into a little (not so) secret - we’re fans of easyJet here at Jack’s Flight Club. When it comes to budget airlines, their large selection of short and medium-haul routes, competitive, (mostly) transparent pricing and generous carry-on allowance makes them winners in our eyes.

However, despite being largely affordable, prices can creep up like with any airline, depending on when and how you choose to book. Follow our flight searching team’s 6 rules for finding the cheapest flights with easyJet below and never pay over the odds for short or medium-haul flights again!

*If you don’t fancy reading all the way through, you can scan to the bottom of the article for a quick checklist!

Rule #1: Timing is key

Like many budget airlines, easyJet’s seat pricing is based on demand. For popular routes and dates, where demand is high, this means that the longer seats are online and available to book, the more expensive they are likely to become. Fear not, budget flight lovers, for easyJet release their seats for each season all at once, meaning that as long as you know when this is, you can often book straight away and bag some of the cheapest fares. They’ve even got a handy flight schedule release date page that tells you when that’ll be. Bingo!

Flights for Summer 2020 are set to be released in September, so bookmark that page and keep an eye on it around then.

Exceptions to the rule:

While the majority will be lower than average, not all seat prices will be at their lowest right when released, they will continue to fluctuate based on demand throughout the year.

To check how the current price compares to the average fare for a specific route, enter the exact route and dates of your easyJet flight into Google Flights, which will let you know whether your fare is low, average, or high based on previous years (see example below). This works particularly well for routes that have been around for at least a couple of years.

Rule #2: Savings in numbers - Book your flights together

A nice and short, quick win for you! Despite being pretty transparent with fees, easyJet charges a £16 admin fee for each booking made. Therefore, if you’re travelling with others, book all seats together at once to ensure you don’t pay it multiple times. Two tickets booked together means £8 in savings for each of you. Simples!

Exceptions to the rule:

None.

Rule #3: Use easyJet’s low-fare-finder tool to find the cheapest dates

While we’ll keep tracking and alerting you of cheap flights (including easyJet!), if you’re after a particular route or possibly a particular date, easyJet does have some uniquely useful tools of its own to help you bag a cheap flight. One, in particular, is their handy low fare finder which lets you pinpoint the lowest fares across their entire network. Here’s how it works:

1. Head to the link above and enter your chosen destination.

2. Click on a bar to select a month and then again to select a date and finally a flight time on that date (the lower the bars, the lower the price).

3. Click ‘add return’ to add your return leg and repeat steps 1 and 2, then click ‘continue’.

4. This will then take you through to easyJet’s flight booking page with your chosen dates and times pre-populated. You can then check to see if these are the lowest fares available. Jackpot!

As a side note, if you know you want to get away but don’t know where, when or for how long, easyJet’s cool Inspire Me tool lets you customise a cheap trip based on where you’re flying from, when you want to fly, your budget and even the type of trip (adventure, beach, city etc.) that you’re after. Give it a try on the link above – you could get lost for hours!

Exceptions to the rule:

Your chosen dates could be cheaper with another carrier, so ensure that you run them through Google Flights and Skyscanner or Momondo before booking to ensure you get the best price.

Rule #4: Know your routes - especially new routes!

For whatever reason, be it arrangements that the airline has with a particular airport, capacity for large numbers of flights or low demand, certain easyJet routes tend to be cheaper than bigger name airlines nearly all year round.

Some of our favourite cheap flight routes by easyJet that can save you loads versus other carriers are below:

Tel Aviv, Israel - departures from Manchester and London Stansted/Gatwick, with lowest fares reaching £115 return.

Agadir & Marrakech, Morocco - departures from London and Manchester, from £48 return.

Reykjavik, Iceland - departures from London, Bristol, Belfast, Manchester and Edinburgh, for as low as £45 return.

Also, keep an eye on new routes from easyJet as those will typically have below-market fares for the first year or so as demand builds. As an example, we’re fans of this new route to Aqaba, Jordan from Gatwick, which we expect will only become more expensive in future years:

Aqaba, Jordan - departs from London Gatwick. Lowest fares reach £100 return.

Exceptions to the rule:

Like with most routes there is competition. easyJet, in particular, competes with the likes of Ryanair and Wizz Air on many routes. If you’re after a no-frills (at all) flight and are only taking a backpack, you may find Ryanair or Wizz Air prices lower or more convenient on some routes. Always compare all options before choosing the best flight for you.

Rule #5: Pack smart

Whereas some budget airlines impose strict measurements on what carry-on bags you can and cannot take on board, we’ve found easyJet to be fairly relaxed when it comes to their allowances.

As they don’t weigh carry-on bags, smart packers can fit quite a substantial amount into their hand luggage without the need to pay for checked items.

What’s more, easyJet will allow you to board with one additional personal item size bag free of charge, meaning anything you can’t fit in your standard baggage can be placed into this. Just be sure to arrive at the gate on time so that you can find a spot in the overhead lockers! More information on what is and isn’t allowed can be found on easyJet’s baggage policy page.

Exceptions to the rule:

There’s always a chance that you’ll be told your bag is too big and that you’ll need to pay to have it checked - an expensive mistake. Ensure your bag is the correct size and make sure you check-in online and print out your boarding passes to minimise the likelihood of this happening at the check-in counter.

Rule #6 Most importantly…tool up!

Whilst easyJet does often provide the best value fare options, particularly on short-haul routes, you should always run your chosen flight dates through Google Flights and either Skyscanner or Momondo to see if another carrier offers a better deal. You may have found cheap flights directly through easyJet's website, however, another carrier or an OTA (online travel agent) may offer an even better price. The comparison tools above can show you these options.

Exceptions to the rule:

EasyJet is not always the cheapest carrier available, especially on flights from London, where the likes of Wizzair and Ryanair often undercut easyJet on Stansted and Luton departures. However, do look out for hidden fees that other airlines might add onto your booking that aren’t advertised on flight comparison websites. For example, higher costs to reserve seats together and charges for standard-sized carry-on luggage and so on. See more in our budget airline comparison guide here.

(And here’s that quick checklist we promised you earlier…)

1. Keep an eye on easyJet’s flight schedule release page.
2. Avoid repeat admin fees by booking together, rather than individually.
3. Use easyJet’s cheap fare finder and Inspire Me tools.
4. Understand which easyJet routes represent consistent value for money.
5. Make the most of easyJet’s generous carry-on allowance and avoid paying for checked baggage.
6. Always check a flight comparison tool such as Skyscanner, Momondo or Google Flights that easyJet does indeed offer the best value fare for your chosen dates.