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Airfare Expert: Is It Time To Start Shopping For Thanksgiving Travel?

Categories: Industry News | News

According to Rick Seaney; “Believe it or not, the holidays are coming; but forget the turkey – now’s the time to get your ducks in a row.” It’s not too early to start comparing prices but it is a little early to buy. Start purchasing Thanksgiving airfare when the kids go back to school – from the very end of Aug. through early Sept. – and your shopping window is good through mid-Oct. The earlier you buy this year, the better. In the meantime, plan out the rest of your holiday shopping strategy.

1. Best days to fly 

This is where flexibility means savings.

Most expensive days to fly are the Wednesday (Nov. 21) before Thanksgiving, plus the Sunday (Nov. 25) and Monday (Nov. 26) after the holiday. Not coincidentally, these are also the busiest days to fly.

Cheaper days to fly are all the other days around the holiday which run about 10-20% less but the cheapest Thanksgiving travel date of all is Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) which is about 30-50% cheaper than the most expensive days.

For perspective, these are one-way prices (as of this week) from Los Angeles to New York:

•Flights in early Nov. $165

•Flights Sunday/Monday/Tuesday before Thanksgiving $235

•Flights Wednesday before Thanksgiving $255

•Flights Thanksgiving Day $165

•Flights Sunday after Thanksgiving $310

•Flights Monday after Thanksgiving $265

2. Vacation time 

If you were going to burn any vacation days this fall, consider saving them for Thanksgiving travel. Use them on the run-up to the holiday or afterwards so you don’t have to travel on the most expensive days, but get your request in early as everyone will be asking for the time off.

3. Find the right destination 

The closest airport to your destination isn’t always the cheapest. If you’re flying to Cincinnati; check prices to CVG and Dayton, and maybe even Columbus and Indianapolis. I recently looked at airfares from Los Angeles and noticed Thanksgiving flights to Dayton were $130 cheaper than Cincinnati. If you’re flying to Los Angeles, compare LAX prices with Long Beach; the latter is a focus city for JetBlue and often has good deals. Of course, prices can and do change so comparing airfares is a must.

 

To read the rest of this article, please visit USA Today’s Travel section, by clicking here.

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