Priceline.com Reports That Airfares Have Remained Steady for Holiday Season

Airfares have remained relatively steady as the holiday season approaches, according to Priceline.com.

Based on priceline.com’s report, at the beginning of October, the national average for Thanksgiving airfares was $400. It rose slightly to $407, by the end of the month, which is 6 percent higher than fares for the same period in 2010. In early October, the average winter holiday airfare was $475 or 1 percent higher than last year. By the end of October, the average winter holiday airfare had dropped to $451.

Brian Ek, priceline.com’s Travel Expert, said, “After several major airlines announced 2 percent to 5 percent flight reductions for 4th quarter 2011, airfare watchers were looking to see what effect that might have on holiday airfares. Airfares are up over last year, but only modestly. So there’s still time to find affordable flights home for the holidays.”

Priceline.com has created a web page that contains an interactive and frequently updated Best Days To Fly calendar, as well as hotel deals from around the country. According to the calendar, the most affordable days to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday are: November 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 (Thanksgiving Day), 25, 29 and 30. The most affordable days to fly over the Christmas holiday are: December 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 27, 28 and 31.

The Priceline Group is composed of four primary brands: Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and TravelJigsaw. It is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with over 190,000 participating hotels worldwide. Customers can also use priceline.com’s Name Your Own Price airline-ticketing service to save more compared to published fares.

Visit www.priceline.com