(VIDEO: Television interview with Chris McGinnis on best/worst days for Christmas/New Years trips.)
Despite the abundance of dark and scary warnings about a Thanksgiving travel meltdown, most of those hitting the skies last week found smooth sailing. There were no major meltdowns at airport security, the weather cooperated for the most part, airlines and airports were hyper-prepared. To the surprise of many, it all went off without a hitch. That’s a good thing.
Now it’s time to focus on round two of the holiday travel season: Christmas and New Year’s. Here’s hoping that we’ll be just as surprised by a smooth peak travel season! But in any case, here are a few points to keep in mind:
1> With Christmas and New Year’s Day both falling on Saturdays this year, the holiday season is going to be very compact. A shorter season means peak travel days are going to be more crowded and more expensive than what we saw over Thanksgiving.
2> Travelocity says that the average Christmas/New Year’s fare this year is $457. That’s 21 percent higher than the $380 or so we paid, on average, for Thanksgiving week travel. If you are planning to travel during this week, you’ve probably already missed out on the best deals and the most convenient flights. Sorry!
3> The best days for holiday travel in terms of crowds and pricing will be the Tuesday before Christmas (Dec 21), Christmas Day (Dec 25) and New Year’s day (Saturday, Jan 1). Keep in mind that even though these days will be slower than others, we are still talking about PEAK season travel, so it’s going to be more expensive and more crowded than almost any other time of year.
4> The worst (most crowded, most expensive) days to be flying will be the Wednesday and Thursday before Christmas (Dec 22 and 23), the Sunday and Monday after Christmas (Dec 26 and 27) and then the Sunday and Monday after New Year’s (Jan 2 and 3). Christmas Eve (Friday, Dec 24) is always relatively a relatively light day– but since it’s on a Friday this year, I’m thinking it might be busier than in previous years.
5> Don’t forget about the so-called “dead weeks.” These are the first two weeks of December and the first two weeks of January. Travel demand plummets during these weeks, so if you are a tough bargaineer and have a lot of flexibility, check out last minute deals on sites like Hotwire.com or Priceline.com during the dead weeks. You’ll be surprised by what you’ll find. (Exception: New York City is at its most crowded and expensive during the first two or three weeks of December due to holiday shopping.)
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