Holiday travelers, please note: air travel will not only be more costly this year, it will also be more crowded.
So much so that the national average airfare for Thanksgiving travel is US$383, according to Priceline.com. Only once in the past eight years have fares been higher, in 2007, when it was $385.
“Prices have gone up … it seems pretty substantially compared to last year," Basili Alukos, an equity analyst, told Reuters. "It’s just a reflection of lower supply."
And Christmas? The average airfare is projected at $444. It was only $361 seven years ago.
The Thanksgiving holiday period find travelers up 3.5 percent from a year ago, according to several estimates.
Airlines are expected to be 90 percent full, estimates the Air Transport Association.
Orbitz also reported more expensive fares. It said some major routes were up to 30 percent higher this holiday season compared to a year ago.
Orbitz says the busiest days to fly during the Christmas season will be Dec. 23 and Dec. 26, and the lightest days will be Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
The on-line company says the most expensive day to fly will be Dec. 26. The least expensive day to fly will be Dec. 31, when customers will be paying an average round-trip fare of $439.
What can consumers do?
"You can dramatically reduce your airfare by being choosy with your travel dates," said Priceline Senior Travel Analyst Brian Ek. "Pick days when fewer people are flying and the fares will be cheaper.”
Priceline says the best days to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday are November 22, 23, 25 (Thanksgiving Day) and 30.
And Christmas? The best days for low prices are December 20, 21, 24 (Christmas Eve), 28, 29, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
CheapOair also had some suggestions for lowering the cost of airline tickets.
—Sign up for newsletters that offer travel deals.
—“While newsletters provide you with plenty of great deals, other options that could wind up saving you big bucks on travel can be found via social media sites like Twitter and Facebook,” the site says.
—Try to book smaller airports which are less crowded and often offer cheaper flights.
—If you have airline miles sitting around, use them, the site says, though it admits it can be difficult at holiday times.
Other recommendations for lowering the price of airfare:
—Travelers will find the most affordable seats departing early in the morning (5-7 a.m.) or late evening (after 8 p.m.).
—Most expensive are the peak business travel hours (8-10 a.m. and 5-7 p.m.).
—Travel experts also recommend trying priceline.com’s Name Your Own Price® airline tickets service. For help in deciding when to fly or how to bid for maximum savings, check out priceline.com’s Inside Track at www.priceline.com/insidetrack.
—As for any presents: send then ahead. Not only do they add to higher baggage fees, they are not friendly to screeners.
By David Wilkening
