By: John Rauser - Farecast Fareologist
Here are a couple of useful stories for planning your holiday travel this season. Laura Bly at USA Today wrote today in her column that holiday travel will cost more this year. She writes that procrastinators who are still determined to fly home this year for the holiday will face higher prices for fares this year. Steeper fuel costs, fewer available seats on many U.S. routes and stingier allotments of the cheapest airfares, she notes, have contributed to higher prices and fewer bargains this season.
Jon Douglas over at MSN Travel has written an excellent article about Holiday airfares that helps consumers make sense of when to buy holiday flights this season. Some key tips for Thanksgiving include avoid flying on Sunday, Nov. 25. Delaying your return until Monday or Tuesday can save $60 to $100 per person. For Christmas travel, when you return has less impact on your fare than when you depart. Since Christmas is on Tuesday this year, the most popular (and expensive) travel dates are likely to be Friday, Dec. 21, and Saturday, Dec. 22.
So far this year, Thanksgiving fares are tracking 3-7% higher than last year. We will continue to bring you the latest on how fares are shaping up to help you make smart, informed decisions when shopping for travel this holiday season.
[...] John Rauser wrote a fantastic post today on “MSN and USA Today Report On Holiday Airfares”Here’s ONLY a quick extractSteeper fuel costs, fewer available seats on many US routes and stingier allotments of the cheapest airfares, she notes, have contributed to higher prices and fewer bargains this season. Jon Douglas over at MSN Travel has written an … [...]