Easy Tips for Saving Money on Thanksgiving Flights

Flying home (or on vacation) for Thanksgiving might be a little more expensive than you expect this year, thanks to rising fuel costs and the sluggish economy. The latest word from the aviation industry is that holiday flights are getting cancelled, with airlines worried about partially full flights and the high cost of flying. The airline industry expects the number of travelers to be down this year about 2 percent from 2010, and they are cancelling flights as a result. So what does that mean for those of you that have yet to buy your tickets? You should probably hurry and buy – they will almost certainly go up, as Thanksgiving is only 3 weeks away!

We’ve come up with five simple tips to help you save money when booking your Thanksgiving flight – they are easy to follow, and might save you a bundle!

1. Avoid flying on the busiest days. The busiest travel days around Thanksgiving are the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 24th, so avoid Wednesday the 23rd, Sunday the 27th and Monday the 28th.

2. Fly on Thanksgiving Day if at all possible. You can fly out early in the day and be at your destination before the turkey gets out of the oven! Or fly out early in the week, and head home after you have pumpkin pie – either way you might save hundreds.

3. Book a vacation instead of just a flight. Especially if you need a hotel (or just a car) in addition to your flight, look at a vacation package at the major consolidators (Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, OneTravel, Priceline). You can often save at the big consolidators – maybe even save quite a bit.

4. Check alternate airports. Alternate airports aren’t always convenient, but they can offer you big savings. If San Francisco (SFO) factors into your flight plans, check out Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC). If you’re flying into Los Angeles, New York or Washington DC, there are tons of options. Normally, the inconvenience isn’t worth the savings, but around the holidays the savings could be significant!

5. Be flexible. Flexibility is the name of the game around the holidays. Flying out the weekend before Thanksgiving, then back home on Thanksgiving day might save you tons of dough – that you can then spend on Black Friday deals! Check out our MultiSearch to help see which days offer you the best deals. And hurry and book!

Resources:
Expedia
OneTravel
Orbitz
Priceline
Travelocity