Thanksgiving air travel expected to be busy, expensive

If you're planning to hop a plane to grandma's house for Thanksgiving and haven't booked your tickets yet, you can expect to pay up.

The Air Transport Association expects 24 million Americans will fly during the 12-day Thanksgiving travel period, up 3.5% from last year.

The group also says that most airlines are near capacity for their flights, so you won't find many last-minute deals out there.  A survey by Priceline.com shows Thanksgiving flights are the most expensive they've been in three years.

To get the best rate, avoid flying on the busiest days of the travel period--the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and the Wednesday before.  If you can, fly on Thanksgiving day itself, which is typically the least busy day of the period.