This Is the Goldilocks Window for Booking Winter Flights
It’s hard to imagine that the cold will ever come while we’re still in the midst of the hottest summer the world has ever seen , but believe it or not, now is the time to start planning if you want to avoid paying a fortune for own life. winter holidays 2024 flights.
We are already in the so-called “Goldilocks window”, a period when winter holiday flights are at their cheapest. The window for peak seasonal offers is typically 4-10 months for international flights and 3-6 months for domestic flights. This means that if you want to get away from the slush and snow in February, it’s time to start planning.
Travel experts’ recommendations for booking times range from late August or early September for international flights to late September or early October for domestic flights if price is the most important factor. Some evidence suggests that the cheapest fares are available an average of 70 days before departure, i.e. mid-August for Thanksgiving trips and early October for the December holidays.
The vacationer offers a more conservative estimate – late August to early September or earlier – regardless of where you’re heading, with clear booking times: Halloween for Thanksgiving trip and Thanksgiving for Christmas trip.
You should also consider that more desirable itineraries, times and locations are likely to sell out faster, so if you’re stuck on a particular itinerary you may need to book sooner rather than later.
What you need to do to plan your winter trip right now
If you haven’t already, now is the time to get your plans in place so you can start looking for flights and arranging accommodation and other travel logistics. You may not need to book today, but you shouldn’t put off for long. Check out the prices and start tracking them down with plans to buy in the next few weeks.
Use Google Flights to view price history and forecasts for your trip, including whether your ticket price will be “less than usual” or likely to go up. You can also set up price tracking in Google Flights for routes and specific flights to get notified if prices are likely to change or change. When searching for a route, enable Price Tracking above your flight options.
If your travel dates are flexible, you can also use the date grid to find the best combination of flights to and from your destination. According to The Vacationer , the best departure dates for Christmas travel are December 18-20 or Christmas Eve/Day, and the best return dates are December 28 or 29. The worst departure time is December 23rd and the worst return time is December 26th or 27th. During Thanksgiving week, you basically need to avoid departing on Wednesday (November 22) and returning on Sunday (November 26).
How to save money on holiday flights in 2023
If price is more important than time or convenience, you can get better deals by being flexible. Consider arriving or departing from nearby airports, which may offer cheaper options, are open to all airlines, as well as connecting flights and less desirable departure and stopover times.
If you want to block your flights soon but leave some flexibility in case prices drop significantly, look for fares that are refundable or at least cancelable without a fee . If you find a cheaper option, you can rebook using refunded cash or flight credit (depending on your airline’s refund policy).