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 spokesman for AAA Colorado, revealed that holiday travelers who don’t wait to purchase tickets early save money since flights will likely cost more during the holidays this year.
‘If you do that now, you’re among a minority of travelers,’ McKinley told FOX31.
McKinley told the Aspen Times this month that the pandemic played a role in why prices have 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 a by half-percentage point.
The cut could potentially spur an increase in travel demand.
‘There’s going to be a jolt of confidence that will probably send the markets upward. That’ll make folks a little bit more willing to spend on credit,’ McKinley told FOX31.
‘All that’s going to put more upwards pressure on the travel economy.’
Airfare for Thanksgiving flights is 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 a non-discount 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 since flying on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day is usually not too expensive.
AAA Colorado spokesman Skyler McKinley advised holiday travelers to purchase tickets early this year
Travel demand could increase following the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its key interest rate
About 32 percent of Americans are planning to travel this holiday season, according to a study published last week by CivicScience.
AAA Colorado also concluded that 55 percent of state residents are planning to travel for 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’s going to diminish supply and increase prices, limiting availability for those of us who are more inclined to wait,’ McKinley said.
McKinley believes the 2024 travel period will exceed expectations and ‘far surpass’ 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 screened passengers.
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