A Question about Thanksgiving airfare

[kevin75]

Hello everyone,

We are planning our trip this year for Nov. 16 - Nov. 22 or 23. We were originally going to come back on Tuesday the 22, but we would like to stay another day and are seeing what the cost would be. I am curious as to airfare prices for those who have traveled during this time as we have not. Generally, we travel via Southwest, but really I'm just curious in general, how much are the price differences (if any) for flights the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, as opposed to Tuesday?

 

[Tonberry]

I've always hunted for deals and constantly check online. By the time I'm done, I can find prices for Thanksgiving time just about the same as any other non-holiday week.

If you are going at this time, be aware of a few things. Airports will be busy! TSA inspection lines will be huge. The last time we flew at Thanksgiving, our plane taxi'd for over an hour. When the plane initially pulled away from the gate, we were 49th in line to take off.

Make sure you do as much from home as you can. If you have the option to, try to check-in online, print your own boarding passes, check in your own luggage, etc.

 

[alliecat523]

Wednesday fares are usually higher than Tuesday on Thanksgiving week.

 

[goofy4tink]

That Wed, and the following Sun, are incredibly busy days for travel. Wed is just plain nutty!!! So, you may well find higher fares on that day.

 

[cedricandsophie]

The easiest way to check is go to a site like Expedia. Put in the travel dates at two different times and see the difference. We usually fly United out of Chicago but I always check all flights ahead of time before on Expedia and then I book directly with the airline. I have never found the price on Expedia to be much different than what I can get from United directly. Plus if you get stuck unless you have booked with airline directly it is a much bigger hassle. We used to fly southwest a lot but lately the prices are very close to United and even for a few dollars not worth the hassle of getting to midway.

 

[TXMemaw]

We travel almost exclusively with Southwest (they have the most flights from our local airport) and have flown many times during Thanksgiving week. Tuesday is almost always cheaper than Wednesday and as the PP's have said, Wednesday before Thanksgiving is crazy busy all across the country. If you do fly on Wednesday, try to be on an earlier flight to avoid the possibility of delays.

 

[cassie58]

We flew on the Wed. before Tday a few yrs. ago and surprisingly got a really good rate on SW going down to WDW from Philly. We flew out around noon, and the airport wasn't too crazy, but as PP mentioned that Sun, followed by that Wed. are the most traveled days of the whole yr., so just plan accordingly. If you can get an earlier flight for a decent price, I would definitely take another day in Disney!