The cheapest airlines in Europe for 2026 - which carriers save you the most?

AirAdvisor ranks 23 European airlines by actual cost per seat kilometre. See which budget carriers offer the best value for 2026 and how prices changed year over year.

Amy Lancelotte

By:  Amy Lancelotte

Last Updated:  May 25, 2026

Reviewed by:  Joanna Teljeur

These days, it’s crucial to make your travel budget stretch as far as possible. Finding a cheap flight can mean the difference between taking a vacation and staying home. To help you search for budget-friendly flights, we’ve set out to determine the best low-cost airlines Europe offers.

Key findings

• The cheapest airline in Europe for 2026 is Wizz Air. It’s also the cheapest high-volume airline.
• The difference between the cheapest and priciest is 27.67 euro cents per seat kilometre, which really adds up given the distances we normally travel.
• Ryanair is the most-improved European airline year-over-year, lowering the average revenue per seat kilometre from 8.43 euro cents in 2024 to 5.56 euro cents in 2025.

An offshoot of our list of the best European airlines, the metric used, revenue per average seat kilometre, commonly referred to as RASK, will help you make budget-friendly flight choices in 2026 and beyond.

Our research and findings included:

• 23 different Europe-based carriers broken down into 3 categories: high-volume, major national, and notable regional.
• The exclusion of Volotea, Air Europa, and LOT, as these airlines did not have published financial data at the time of writing. We also included Turkish Airlines because Eurocontrol includes it in European data.
• A varied seat kilometre revenue in 2025, from 4.33 euro cents to 32 euro cents – a huge range.

Methodology

The data used for the ranking is the revenue average per seat kilometre (RASK). This includes:

• Annual passenger revenue
• Annual available seat kilometres

We divide the revenue by the available miles to get the annual RASK for each European airline.

The cheapest European airline overall – Wizz Air 

European airlines don’t come any cheaper than Wizz Air, and by a wide margin. With our lowest RASK of 4.33 euro cents, this budget carrier definitely has some affordable fares.

Here’s how to maximise your chances of a great deal with Wizz:

1. Subscribe to the Wizz Air Newsletter – Everyone likely already gets a lot of emails, but if you want to secure a sale flight quickly, information is key. This is how the company informs the public first about special offers.
2. Be flexible – On the Wizz Air website, you can use the fare finder to identify the cheapest flight for your route. And if you don’t care where you go, select your departure city only and see what affordable options are available and when.
3. Act fast – Don’t hesitate when you find a great deal, like a flight from London Gatwick to Malaga for as low as £18 (about €21).

Given the low average cost per seat kilometre, when you search for your next flight anywhere in Europe, start with Wizz Air and branch out from there.

European airline affordability ranking by AirAdvisor

This table shows the increase or decrease in a single year. Some airlines were not included in our previous rankings, so they are listed as “N/A.” You’ll see that more airlines had lower prices (9) in 2025 than increases (5), which is definitely good news.

The cheapest high-volume airlines in Europe

This category contains 8 total airlines. Since Wizz Air is the cheapest airline overall, it also tops the list of the cheapest high-volume European airlines.

#1

 Wizz Air – Best budget airline in Europe 2026

Even though the RASK for Wizz Air increased slightly from 4.17 euro cents in 2024 to 4.33 euro cents in 2025, it’s still the cheapest.

The next-cheapest European airline, easyJet, is nearly a full euro cent more expensive.

Wizz Air has been the most affordable airline for 3 consecutive years in the AirAdvisor cheapest airline ranking.

4.33 euro cents

RASK

#2

easyJet - Excellent value

EasyJet’s 2025 RASK is 5.21 euro cents, approximately 20% higher than Wizz.

This ultra-low-cost carrier lives up to its name and has shown a significant decrease in RASK. It was 6.65 pence (7.70 euro cents) in 2024.

Score cheap flights from easyJet by subscribing to their email alerts. If you act fast, you’ll often be rewarded with heavy discounts.

5.21 euro cents

RASK 

#3

Ryanair – Most improved European Airline

Ryanair is the most-improved European airline year-over-year, lowering the average revenue per seat kilometre from 8.43 euro cents in 2024 to 5.56 euro cents in 2025.

According to Eurocontrol, the average flight distance in Europe is 1,157km. Ryanair’s decrease of 2.87 euro cents per kilometre can save passengers over €33 compared to the previous year.

Other than easyJet’s notable decrease of 2.49 euro cents, most airlines’ RASK decreases are minimal.

5.56 euro cents 

RASK 

Ranking table for the cheapest high-volume European airlines

The cheapest major national carriers in Europe

This group contains a total of 11 larger national airlines with lower passenger volumes than the first category.

#1

Finnair - top value pick

Finnair’s RASK for 2025 is 6.22 euro cents – a significant improvement over 2024, when it was 7.97 euro cents.

According to the RASK, Finnair is more than 2 euro cents cheaper than the most expensive major national European airline, which could save up to €23 on the average flight.

To find the best deals, head to Finnair’s Special Offers page to see the prices from every city in your home country.

6.22 euro cents

RASK 

#2

Norwegian Air Shuttle

Norwegian’s 2025 RASK is slightly higher than Finnair's at 6.80 euro cents.

Like Finnair, the Norwegian Air Shuttle RASK decreased from 7.60 euro cents in 2024. That makes this airline much better than the other Norwegian carrier in our list, Widerøe.

Search for low-cost Norwegian flights by selecting the option to see all the cheapest fares broken down by month and cost from your departure point.

6.80 euro cents

RASK

Ranking table for the cheapest major national European airlines

The cheapest notable regional European airlines

This is our smallest category with only 4 total airlines. These carriers tend to fly within their home countries and to select destinations in Europe.

#1

Transavia - Top value pick

In 2025, Transavia’s RASK was 6.64 euro cents, right between Finnair and Norwegian.

To highlight the range in this category, on average, Widerøe’s flights are 4.8 times more expensive than Transavia’s.

There’s no easy mechanism on Transavia’s website to search for the cheapest flights. Simply choose your destination and see what’s available.

6.64 euro cents

RASK 

#2

Eurowings

The Eurowings RASK for 2025 is 7.82 euro cents, representing a more than one euro cent increase per kilometre compared to Transavia.

Eurowings also costs more than the other second-place category finishers, easyJet and Norwegian. 

Eurowings has a handy low fare calendar where you enter your departure point and destination. Then, you see when it’s cheapest to travel.

7.82 euro cents

RASK

On the other hand, a downside to choosing Eurowings is the airline’s punctuality. In 2025, according to AirAdvisor’s data, Eurowings had one of the highest rates of flights delayed by at least 60 minutes (19.13%). Luckily, as an EU-based airline, passengers are often eligible for flight delay compensation.

Ranking table for the cheapest notable regional European airlines

Flying can be affordable in 2026

This ranking of the cheapest European airlines should help guide your next flight search. Our research found that overall, Wizz Air has the lowest passenger revenue per seat kilometre in 2025, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look around.

Airlines have periodic sales, last-minute deals, and special discounts for events like Black Friday, Christmas, and spring break. So, use this list as one of the tools in your arsenal to ensure you stick to your travel budget.

Grabbing a deal from any of these airlines is a satisfying thing, and hopefully, it will stop you from constantly wondering why flights are so expensive right now. No one wants to give up travel, so go and seek out a bargain!

FAQs

What are the cheapest European airlines?

Wizz Air is the overall cheapest EU-based airline for 2026. Other cheap European airlines include easyJet and Ryanair, which makes sense given their status as low-cost airlines.

Why use RASK to determine the cheapest Europe-based airlines?

This AirAdvisor study uses RASK, which is the revenue per average seat kilometre of each airline. By using this, we get a true impression of what passengers actually spend on a flight. It includes baggage, seat selection, and other add-ons.

Why are some European airlines cheaper than others?

Some airlines go for a bare-bones service with nothing included, like checked bags, refreshments, and seat selection. To keep fares cheaper, airlines also cut costs by limiting passenger space (to get more seats on the plane) and using less expensive, second-tier airports. Additionally, if you book at the right time, airlines often want to fill seats, so they offer substantial discounts.

Author:

Amy Lancelotte

Job/Position: Senior Writer & Content Strategist

Amy Lancelotte is a Senior Content Writer and editorial contributor at AirAdvisor with over seven years of experience producing research-based articles for international audiences. Her work focuses on travel, aviation, and air passenger rights, with an emphasis on factual accuracy, verified data, and clear, reader-first explanations.

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