Holiday Travel

When is the best time to book your Holiday flight?

When to Book Thanksgiving Flights
At least a quarter of all flyers looking to travel for Thanksgiving have already booked their Thanksgiving flights. Orbitz says the best day for those who haven’t booked yet will be October 6. According to the Orbitz Holiday Insider Index, you should expect to pay an average of $406 round-trip for those end-of-November flights.

When to Book Christmas Flights
Because it’s the holiday with the greatest number of people taking to the skies, the sweet spot to book cheap Christmas flights is much earlier than the actual travel date: October 9, to be exact. You may also get a second chance at a reasonable (though slightly higher) fare if you book on November 6 or 7. Extreme procrastinators should be prepared to pay an average of $539 for a round-trip flight.

When to Book New Year’s Eve Flights
Solidify your New Year’s Eve plans by October 10—the best day to book flights averaging in the $362 range for the last holiday of the year. The latest you can book and still expect to see some savings is December 2. If you end up booking after Thanksgiving, you’ll be competing with half of all travelers. In the case, fares that can go as high as $500.

To briefly recap, book on October 6 for Thanksgiving flights, October 9 for Christmas flights, and October 10 for New Year’s Eve flights. If only it were so easy to narrow down Christmas lists, too.

Enjoy your holidays!