The Best Time to Buy Thanksgiving Airfare Is ...
I'm always asked about buying airfares and to be honest, I really don't have a clue. Trying to make sense of airfare fluctuations and fare rules is a game I don't have time to play.
However, the geniuses over at Kayak.com pulled together a ton of data around historical Thanksgiving airfares to show when the right time to buy might be and by the looks of it, now might be a good time to get your airfare locked in. Per the chart below, fares increase drastically in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. This wasn't completely surprising information, but I thought I'd share it with any TPG readers who might be procrastinating and hoping for super cheap fares in November.
What I did find interesting was that fares start sky high in the summer and are basically at the same price of a last minute fare. I guess this makes sense - take advantage of the risk-adverse people who will pay top dollar to know that their busy season travel is taken care of. Personally, I don't know why everyone freaks out so much about Thanksgiving travel - yeah, it's a little crowded, but it's no different than many other peak travel periods. A packed plane is still a packed plane whether it's a day before Turkey Day or a busy spring break weekend.
In any case enjoy the data and I hope it saves a TPG procrastinator a couple bucks!
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