It is Not Too Late to Book a Holiday Flight - Travel - Air Travel

If you have procrastinated in making your holiday travel plans, the good news is that there is still time to take advantage of cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms or cheap vacation packages.

In recent years travelers who bought their tickets the earliest got the cheapest fares, while those who waited usually faced higher prices.

This year things are different. While ticket prices are up and flights are fuller those who have not purchased tickets for travel over Thanksgiving or Christmas travel deals are still available for those who know where and how to look.

It appears that airlines may have increased some prices too high too fast. Airlines are expected to run sales closer to departure dates to fill the remaining seats on planes.

Experts now predict that the cheapest flights will be booked during the first week of December. Mind you, flight options will be limited by that time. Airfares are predicted to increase again the second week of December.

It is still possible to find reasonable prices to fly over Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving airfare has increased only $7 to an average of $407 over the past four weeks which is about 6 percent more than last year.

Even better deals are available for travel in late December. The average winter holiday airline ticket price has fallen by 5 percent over the last month.

The reason most people purchase airline tickets early for travel over the holidays is that they do not want to take the chance of holding off for a cheap ticket and risk not being able to afford the trip.

If you are willing to take gamble and book late make certain that you comparison shop flying out of and into multiple airports if you live in or near a major city. Currently flights into Regan National are as much as 22 cheaper than into Baltimore Washington International or Dulles.

Tuesdays are usually the cheapest days to buy tickets and Wednesdays are often the cheapest day to fly, followed by Tuesday and Saturday. The exception is the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving when everyone wants to fly and it is often the most expensive travel day.Flights early in the day are typically the cheapest and also tend to run on time more often.

Flying Green is Becoming a Reality

Although many eco conscious travelers love to take advantage of cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages they are also concerned about the negative carbon footprint created by flying.

Now environmentalists will be pleased to hear that Continental Airlines made its first biofuel powered commercial flight in the U.S. on Monday, November 7th, when its Boeing 737-800 flew between Houston and Chicago.

The Continental flight burned what is being referred to as "green jet fuel" derived partially from genetically modified algae that feeds off plant waste and produces oil.

This fuel was developed by Solazyme and Honeywell. Their refined oil can power both commercial and military flights.United Airlines flew the first commercial flight powered by synthetic fuel made from natural gas in 2010.

United Continental Holdings, which is the parent of both airlines, settled on an agreement to purchase 20 million gallons of algae derived fuel from Solazyme beginning as soon as 2014.

In completing the Continental flight on Monday United beat Alaska Airlines by two days which started its own biofuel powered flights on Wednesday, November 9th.

That day Alaska Airlines flew its first biofuel power planes between Seattle and Washington and between Seattle and Portland, Ore. Alaska Horizon is expected to soon commence flights using a biofuel blend.More U.S. airlines are expected to start flying more cleanly and ultimate more economically vs. continuing to use traditional, petroleum based Jet-A fuel.

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