TAMPA, FL -- Travel analysts say holiday airline ticket prices are already down 15%-20% over last year. Still, many travelers say they're not ready to buy just yet.
Janet Stevens with AAA Travel Services says the value may not be there if you wait. "You're going to have less availability to choose from. Any of these lower fares or special fares that you see offered are capacity controlled," Stevens says.
Simply put, there are already fewer flights to choose from and more people flying around the holidays.
What time of day and what days you chose to travel will also affect your price, so the sooner you book, the more options you'll have.
"If you leave first thing Thanksgiving morning a lot of times you can save money," Stevens says
Or, fly around the peak days like the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, instead of that Wednesday.
And if you're looking for convenience as well as a good price, consider optimal connecting cities where winter weather is less of an issue. You can be a little more selective, if time is on your side.
Rick Seaney of
Farecompare.com says "Bottom line is that holiday air travel procrastinators do so at their own peril this year and practical travelers should be shopping now and buying before the end of October."
To get the best price you want to shop around compare all of the airlines. But you don't have to do all of the work yourself. There are websites out there that will compare all of the airline prices for you like
kayak.com. This site will even compare some of the discount sites as well.
