Travel expert reveals how to get cheaper flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays
Holiday travelers looking for deals on flights this Thanksgiving and Christmas should book their trips early this year, a travel expert revealed.
Skyler McKinley, a spokesperson for AAA Colorado, revealed that holiday travelers who don’t wait to buy tickets early will save money, as flights will likely be more expensive during the holidays this year.
“If you do that now, you’re going to be in a minority of travelers,” McKinley said VOC31.
McKinley told the Aspen times this month that the pandemic played a role in why prices changed.
“Pre-pandemic, you could probably wait until mid-October to book for Thanksgiving, or wait until after Thanksgiving to book for Christmas to get a good deal. But there is no such thing as a last-minute deal anymore,” he explained.
The busiest travel days this year are expected to be November 25 to 27 and December 23
McKinley’s advice comes days after the Federal Reserve announced it would cut its key interest rate by half a percentage point.
The cutbacks could potentially lead to an increase in demand for travel.
“There will be a shock of confidence that will likely send markets higher. That will make people a little more willing to spend money on credit,” McKinley told FOX31.
“All of that will put more upward pressure on the travel economy.”
Airfares for Thanksgiving flights are currently about $298 per round-trip ticket, a 10 percent increase from this time last year, according to Globe aware.
A round-trip flight from Denver to Chicago three days before Christmas cost $350 on an undiscounted airline, FOX31 found.
The busiest travel days this year are expected to be November 25 to 27 and December 23.
AAA has advised travelers to be flexible with their holiday flight dates, as flying on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day is usually not too expensive.
AAA Colorado spokesperson Skyler McKinley recommended that leisure travelers purchase tickets early this year
Travel demand could increase following the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut key interest rates
About 32 percent of Americans plan to travel this holiday season, according to a survey published last week by Citizen science.
AAA Colorado also found that 55 percent of state residents plan to travel during the holidays.
At least 40 percent of those travelers have already booked tickets, while 60 percent plan to do so by the end of September.
“That will reduce supply and increase prices, limiting availability for those of us who are more inclined to wait,” McKinley said.
McKinley believes the 2024 travel season will exceed expectations and “far exceed” what the state saw in 2019.
For the Sunday after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel days of the year, NerdWallet predicted that US airport records could be broken due to the increase in the number of passengers screened.
