Buy air tickets early for holiday travel, experts suggest

The holidays will be here before you know it, and if you haven't made arrangements to fly home for Grandma's pumpkin pie, do so as soon as possible.

Airfare experts say you have until the end of October to book Thanksgiving flights to lock in a favorable price and get a seat on the flight you want.

"You have another 10 to 15 days in November to make Christmas and New Year's purchases before things get really crazy," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com.

The holidays are usually busy, and it's typically a smart move to buy tickets early, before demand pushes up prices.

Last year was a rare exception. Oil prices shot up in the summer and sent airfares skyward. By the time the holidays rolled around, oil prices had retreated but many consumers decided against flying because of the weak economy. Airlines slashed fares, and procrastinators who bought tickets late in the game were the big winners.

Don't count on that happening again. Airlines this year have reduced the number of available seats by flying fewer or smaller planes to avoid having to cut fares again.

Demand, which hit bottom in late May and early June, has perceptibly picked up since then, Seaney said. And holiday fares have been moving up in recent weeks.

Still, depending on destination, travelers can find prices lower than a year ago. The best bet for low fares is to be flexible on when you travel, but beware of fees that can substantially raise costs.

As of last week, Thanksgiving round-trip fares nationally averaged $341, down 1 percent from a year earlier, according to Bing Travel, Microsoft's travel search site. The average Christmas fare was $358 last week, down 9 percent from last year.

The cheapest fares for Thanksgiving are likely gone by now, said Joel Grus, Bing Travel's fare expert. But you can still find good deals for the December holidays and New Year's, he said.

The key is to start shopping now for tickets.

"If you see a fare that seems reasonable today and you can afford it, you might as well grab it," said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com. "If the fare is really outrageous... just take a deep breath and have a cup of coffee. Come back in a couple of hours."

Indeed, airfares for the same flight can go up and down within days, and sometimes within hours.

FareCompare and Bing Travel provide e-mail alerts to let you know when prices fall.

Bing Travel also features a farecast to predict the likelihood that a fare will go up or down, to help you decide when to buy. The site claims its predictions are nearly 75 percent accurate.

Better holiday fares are available if you can be flexible with travel days.

Thanksgiving travelers, for instance, usually want to fly the Wednesday before the holiday and return the Sunday after. You'll pay more — at least $100 to $200 each way — if you fly on peak travel days, Seaney said. That includes a new $10 surcharge if you fly on specific dates — Nov. 29 and 30; Dec. 19, 26 and 27; and Jan. 2 and 3.

"The airlines are telling you which days to avoid," Seaney said. But it's always wise to avoid traveling Fridays and Sundays any time of the year, he said.

Fare experts say the best day to travel is often on the holiday. The drawback is that travel and weather are unpredictable, and you could end up stuck at the airport, said Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel, an online travel resource.

Watch out for fees that can push up the price of travel significantly. Check out SmarterTravel's Ultimate Guide to Airline Fees at smartertravel.com to see a wide range of extra charges.