SARASOTA, Fla. (SNN TV) — On Nov. 1, many people will flip the switch into holiday mode.
And if you’re still making your holiday travel plans, you may have better luck booking flights for Christmas than Thanksgiving.
“For Thanksgiving you might already be behind the eight-ball,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said.
Demand for travel remains high years after the height of the COVID pandemic.
“People probably didn’t realize what they had until they lost it for a little while. And now that we get it back again, people are really eager to get back out and to travel and see the world again,” said Jenkins.
He added that airlines have taken notice, and demand will likely remain high into 2024.
That’s why Jenkins stressed that as obvious as it sounds, you need to book flights early to get the best day and time you want. And Thanksgiving will be a tough one.
“A lot of folks have already locked in their plans saying that they’ll lock them in but the end of October,” he said.
For Christmas, you’ll have some more wiggle room.
“More than 60% of Florida travelers say they’ll lock in their Christmas travel plans by the end of October. so not quite as many as what we’re anticipating for Thanksgiving,” said Jenkins.
Booking for Christmas itself, not the day before, will likely be cheaper since there’s less demand for flying on the holiday itself.
What day you leave is one component of traveling; what time you leave is equally important. The redder the eye, the better the skies.
“It’s always best to book a flight that leaves early in the morning,” Jenkins explained. “At the start of the day, that’s when you’re going to have the first crew; everyone’s fresh and ready to go. With each passing flight, there could be something that causes a delay that then causes a domino effect of delays throughout that day with that particular jet.”
He recommended travel insurance even if you’re flying within the country.
“Even if you’re flying out of Florida, winter weather can wreak havoc on your air travel plans because you might be waiting on an airplane coming from the complete other side of the country that may have gotten snowed in. You can be compensated for flight delays [and] flight cancellations where you have out of pocket expenses,” Jenkins said.
