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There's no place like home for the holidays. The only trouble, often, is getting there at an affordable price.
With the economy sagging and fewer people traveling, airlines are cutting back the number of flights and raising fares to try to sustain revenues. To make matters worse, many holiday travelers booked their trips in the summer or early fall, making it now more difficult to find a cheap ticket home.
For the diligent, though, there are still deals to be had.
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"Fares are higher on average, but one can find spot sales here and there," says George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com.
It might not be easy, but you CAN get home for the holidays without blowing your budget if you stay flexible with your travel plans, watch the Internet for sales and consider alternate modes of transportation.
Here are five strategies with the holidays fast approaching:
1. Snag an affordable flight
Don't fly on peak days. You can save money if you're willing to travel several days in advance of the holidays or on Thanksgiving day or Christmas day. If your schedule permits, avoid Friday and Saturday Flights. Almost 80% of the cheapest flights fall on Mondays this year, Hobica says. Avoid flying the Saturday and Sunday before New Year's Eve -- they will be the most expensive days for return flights.
Travelocity has an easy-to-use flexible-search option that finds available domestic flights over a range of days. Farecast.com, which predicts whether fares on 2,000 domestic routes will go up or down, also has a flexible search option that lets you see not only a range of prices for flying on different dates but also into alternate airports. Enter your itinerary and the site will say if you should buy your ticket now -- or if an even better fare is probably on the way. For international flights, try ITA Software's flexible search (click "Search airfares," log in as a guest, then do a month-long search).
Watch the Internet. "When the airlines lower fares during the busy holiday season, they will typically offer just a few seats at a time at the lower price, holding back the bulk of the seats to sell later for a higher price," writes Farecast fareologist John Rauser in the Farecast Blog. "So, when prices drop, you are in competition with everyone else interested in your itinerary to get what might be just a handful of discounted seats, and the fastest clickers win."
Sales for off-peak flights usually pop up two weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas, Hobica says. To find bargain flights, check Airfarewatchdog.com. It posts low fares on selected flights or itineraries -- and it does so faster than other Web sites. To take advantage of these time-sensitive flukes, you must book them right away. For fare deals from the airport nearest you, sign-up for Airfarewatchdog.com's airfare alerts. Another good source: Kayak.com gets fares (plus hotel rates and other travel products, if you ask) from more than 400 sources.
Be sure to check more than one travel search site. Not all airlines participate on Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, so it's a good idea to check them all, including discount airlines' Web sites. Carriers such as Southwest Airlines advertise fares only on their sites (however, Airfarewatchdog.com will list deals from these carriers when its team of searchers finds them).
If price matters more than departure times and layovers, try looking on Hotwire.com or bidding for a seat at Priceline.com. You might find a cheaper fare, but this is sort of like flying blind. Both sites tell you the day of the flight, but withhold the departure time and name of the airline until after you buy. And if you just can't find a ticket in your price range, sign up for free e-mail alerts from Orbitz or Travelocity, so you can act quickly if fares drop into your comfort zone. For more, check out our list of the 30 Best Travel Sites.
Consider alternate airlines and airports. You can save by flying on smaller airlines, such as Allegiant Air and Spirit, Hobica says, or out of alternate airports. For example, we found a flight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Nashville, Tenn., for $130 less than a similar flight (same airline, in fact) from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
One final tip: If you fly home regularly, join a frequent flier program. You could score a free flight. Just don't overpay for a ticket to earn a few miles or you could end up paying for your "freebie" yourself. And don't overlook programs at discount airlines.
2. Get behind the wheel
Hey, this is how people used to go over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house. If you don't think your clunker can make the trip home, however, consider renting a car. There are some definite advantages to renting: If the car breaks down, you don't have to pay for it, and you can typically get another car fairly quickly. If you already have auto insurance, you're covered for a rental, too. Don't pay for the added coverage the sales clerk will inevitably pitch.
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