Flights out of UK costing far more at weekends

Airlines are charging passengers up to five times more for flying at weekends rather than mid-week.

By The Newsroom

Published 3rd May 2010, 01:27 BST

Updated 3rd May 2010, 01:27 BST

Tourists leaving from Birmingham on a Wednesday in June 2010 on a bmi flight to Faro in Portugal pay a single fare of 27.04 each while those leaving on the following Saturday fork out 154.04.

A similar June mid-week flight from Gatwick to Malaga with easyJet is 138 per cent cheaper than leaving the following Saturday, according to figures from the travelsupermarket.com company. Peter Smith, of the company, said: "As flying at the weekend often means not having to book time off work, flights tend to have most demand on these days. Airlines are of course aware of this and their prices simply reflect how popular these dates and times are.

"It is therefore a rule of thumb to avoid flying out of the UK on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday where you can." He advised people to shop around for the best price.