TAMPA, Fla. — Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. Whether you’ve got your trip planned or have waited until the last minute to book, travel experts are weighing in on what you want to know before take-off.
The Short family touched down in Tampa from Canada and is visiting Bradenton for the next five weeks.
“We love coming this time of year,” said Wade Short. “It’s a change of scenes for us up north.”
But they’ll admit they booked the trip not even a week ago.
“We learned a lesson again. It was like okay, you know what, we knew we were coming in November. We should have booked in July, maybe you know, for better pricing and less points,” said Theresa Short.
If you’re traveling over the holidays and haven’t booked yet, you’ll want to do that ASAP.
Scott Keyes is the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights. He said since June, airfares actually started falling, and right now, it’s basically in line with where we saw things pre-pandemic when you adjust for inflation.
“For the first time since the pandemic began, airfares are starting to look something new, and that’s normal, and what normal means is expensive holiday flights, especially if you’re waiting to book them until the last minute, but it also means that a lot of really cheap flights are popping up in those off-peak times,” said Keyes.
He added, “you’re seeing that flights today are actually as full, and many cases, more full than they were at the same time in 2019, and that’s because even though the number of people traveling is still down about five percent compared to pre-pandemic, the actual number of flights is more down like 15 percent thanks to the ongoing pilot shortage."
Many people will remember the headaches and frustrations from flight disruptions earlier this year, but Keyes explained that things might be looking up.
“While there’s always going to be some number of delays or cancellations so long as there are thunderstorms and snow storms, I think that the number of controllable cancellations is quite a bit better than it used to be, and hopefully that continues this holiday season,” said Keyes.
As far as ways to save, Keyes suggested looking at potential deals in and out of other nearby airports rather than the ones that are most convenient for your trip. He also wants to remind people that flying the day of the holiday tends to be the cheapest ticket rather than if you fly a few days before or a few days after.
As you finalize your holiday plans, the Short family is preparing now for their next trip.
“The first thing we got to do when we get out the house, book February,” said Theresa.
