If you have any hope of purchasing cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages to travel over the holidays, experts are saying that now is the time to buy.
The following are suggestions for travelers facing climbing airline ticket prices and who have limited travel budgets:
Now is not the time to be procrastinating. Airline prices are expected to climb as the holidays approach. Seat capacity reductions and an improving economy translate to more competition for fewer seats. Average domestic airline ticket prices were up 13 percent in the second quarter of 10.
To access the cheapest available prices, consider airports within a 90 mile radius of your departure and destination cities. Often low-cost airlines at another airport may be offering the best prices for travelers willing to drive a little out of their way.
By being flexible in your travel dates, you can often find the cheapest fares. The Wednesday before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving are the busiest travel days of that holiday. Thursday and Monday will be the least traveled days. Flying on holiday days is often when prices are at their lowest.
December 23rd and 26th are the busiest travel days over the Christmas holiday and consequently prices are higher on those days.
By taking a connecting flight you usually will save money. However, be aware that if your flight is delayed and you miss your connecting flight, it will be very hard to take a later flight because all flights over the holidays are either full or very close to being sold out.
Select the first flight of the day. While this may not save you money, it could well save you time and aggravation since the earliest flights in a day are statistically more likely to be on time than later flights.
www.cheapfares.com