Is it too late to find cheap holiday airfare?

By John Przybys

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Thanksgiving is almost here and Christmas is approaching with the speed of eight flying reindeer. But it's still not too late to find, if not a cheap airfare, at least a reasonably priced one for getting home or to wherever else it is that you prefer to be for the holidays.

The key is flexibility, which, experts say, will allow you to take advantage of the best deals still to be found.

In fact, experts say being flexible enough to consider traveling at different times or on different days or even to a different airport than you're used to can result in significant savings. But during the holiday season being open to alternatives also can mean the difference between finding a flight or staying home.

Rene Schneeberger, travel agency manager for AAA Northern California, Nevada and Utah, notes that even though airline fuel prices "are at record lows, historically speaking," airfares this year remain "relatively high."

So, Schneeberger says, "one strategy we recommend is to work with secondary airports. For instance, San Francisco is really expensive, so look at (flying into) Oakland or San Jose."

Maria Lilibeth Ruiz, director of marketing for Prestige Travel American Express, recalls traveling to San Francisco a few years ago.

"San Francisco is one of those markets that always seems to be expensive for some reason, even though quite a few airlines go there," she says.

"So, in this case, we found that Allegiant flew into Fresno," Ruiz says, and friends drove over "to pick us up. And with three people involved, it was a savings of about $80 per person, so that was $240 at the time."

Also, check out fares offered by carriers other than those that you usually fly. While there are no guarantees, Ruiz says such smaller, low-cost or regional carriers as Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air may offer fares that are at least competitive with, and even may beat, those charged by larger national carriers.

Be flexible in choosing travel days and travel times. Ruiz notes that the most popular travel times (generally, during the day) and most popular travel days (generally later in the week and on weekends) tend to be not just pricier, but more likely to be sold out by now for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel.

Peak Thanksgiving travel days — and the most expensive days to fly — generally are the day before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving, while Christmas Eve tends to have the priciest Christmas holiday flights. So, be willing to alter your schedule to accommodate less-expensive flights.

However, when comparing fares, be sure to include in your calculation incidental fees and charges. For example, some airlines now charge for such services as seat assignments, checked bags and "even to hand-carry something," Ruiz says.

Such fees can add up, particularly for a traveling family, Schneeberger notes, so "beware of luggage fees and seat assignment fees and compare before you purchase."

Don't wait too much longer to book your holiday flight. One school of thought used to hold that bargains could be found by waiting until nearly the last minute as airlines scrambled to fill unsold seats. Today, in these days of oft-filled flights, waiting no longer is as safe a bet.

"In the past, it used to be that waiting until the last minute often led to good deals," Schneeberger says. "That may be the case for hotels or cars, but when it comes to air travel nowadays, the further out you book the better you are."

Ruiz says a good rule of thumb is to book at least three weeks before departure to avoid being closed out or paying needlessly exorbitant fares. Otherwise, she says, "I know as it gets closer, (the price) gets really atrocious."

By the way: While pricing out alternatives, it'll cost you nothing more than a few extra minutes to see whether purchasing your flight as part of package with a hotel room may be worth it. Schneeberger says booking a room for just a night or two — regardless of how long you'll actually be staying at your holiday destination — might be enough to qualify you for an airfare discount.

And here's a thought: If your holiday destination is relatively close to home, consider driving. Schneeberger says a good rule of thumb is that for destinations within a driving time of 2½ to three hours of home, "it's actually more economical to drive. And our recommendation, from a driving perspective, is again to try to straddle the holiday smartly."

So, for Thanksgiving, head out on Monday or Tuesday, and avoid being on the road Wednesday night or Thursday, and then "return home on Saturday rather than Sunday, when everybody wants to return." (Christmas falls on a Friday this year, so the same general principles would apply.)

Finally, consider consulting a travel agent. Schneeberger says an agent can efficiently explore booking options that would be time-consuming for a layman on a home computer and can "help you find fares that aren't always published fares" as well as "special package rates."