HOUSTON — Travel book group Hopper is predicting a busy and expensive holiday travel season.
Hopper said Thanksgiving and Christmas airfares will be the highest they have been in five years. The average domestic ticket around Thanksgiving is running about $350 and around Christmas, it jumps to over $460.
So why the big increase? Experts said you can’t just blame inflation. They point to pent up demand in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. People are still anxious to meet up with family and friends they may not have seen in two years.
Also, airlines are still not at their pre-pandemic capacity. That means there are fewer seats available on flights compared to 2019. Then there are those pesky high prices for jet fuel.
So how can you save money? The biggest advice is to stay flexible with your dates. You can see deep discounts if you fly on the day of the holiday, sometimes as much as 50% off.
And don’t forget the classic advice of buying tickets sooner than later. You can also use a flight tracker, as well as setting alerts for when prices drop. But no matter what tricks of the trade you use this year, be prepared to pay up.