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The Best Time to Buy Thanksgiving Airfare Is ...

Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly
Founder and “The Points Guy”
Since launching TPG in 2010, founder Brian Kelly has expanded the team to include a distinguished editorial staff and an extensive network of freelancer contacts from around the globe. Today, TPG reaches 11 million unique monthly visitors and more than 3 million followers across social media platforms and has offices in New York City, Charlotte and the U.K.
Oct. 21, 2011
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2 min read
The Best Time to Buy Thanksgiving Airfare Is ...
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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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