Priceline.com Says 2012 Holiday Airfares Are Trending 3% Higher Than Last Year

NORWALK, Conn., Oct. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Looks like we're in for another expensive holiday travel season.  According to priceline.com (Nasdaq: PCLN) fare-watchers, the average national airfare for the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons is trending about 3% higher than last year.   

Currently, the national average for Thanksgiving domestic airfares is $393, compared to $382 last year.  The national average for Christmas domestic airfares is $430, versus $420 last year.  Priceline.com calculated the average airfares based on published-price domestic round-trip airline tickets already purchased by customers for holiday 2012 travel.

"The number of available seats for holiday travel is still down due to flight reductions and airline mergers," said priceline.com's Travel Ekspert Brian Ek.  "That reduces the chances that holiday fares are going to drop.  Travelers who already know their holiday plans would be wise to book well before Halloween in order to get the most choice in flights and seats."

Ek also said that early bookers can get substantial savings by using priceline.com's Name Your Own Price® airline service.  "This year, I'm seeing travelers saving 20% or more over the published fares by bidding on their holiday tickets," said Ek.  "That's about double the savings that travelers were getting at this time last year.  Airlines are selectively making some of their seats available on a Name Your Own Price® basis, and now is a good time to get them." 

Every year, priceline.com publishes a continuously updating Best Days To Fly calendar showing the days when travelers are most likely to find affordable fares.  The calendar can be found at www.priceline.com/bestdays.  According to Priceline, here are the most affordable travel days (currently) for the upcoming holidays:

• The most affordable days to fly over the Thanksgiving holiday are November 19, 22, 27, 28, 29 and 30.  Other moderately priced days to consider are November 18 and 23.

• The most affordable days to fly over the Christmas holidays are December 17, 18, 25, and January 1.  Other moderately priced days to consider are December 15, 16, 19, 23, 24, 27, 31, and January 2.  

Ek also had some additional tips to help find cheaper airfare and keep those travel costs down after the airfare is booked.

• Pick times of the day that are normally less busy.  Time of day is important.  Travelers will find the most affordable seats departing early in the morning (5-7 a.m.) or late evening (after 8 p.m.).  Mid-day (11 a.m.-4 p.m.) is a bit more expensive, but still reasonable.  Most expensive are the peak business travel hours (8-10 a.m. and 5-7 p.m.).

• Try priceline.com's Name Your Own Price® airline tickets service.  You can save even more on your airline tickets by using priceline.com's Name Your Own Price® ticketing service.  With Name Your Own Price® tickets, travelers must agree to begin their trips anytime between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. and there may be up to one connection each way. Visit www.priceline.com/flights and click on the link to use the service.  For help in deciding when to fly or how to bid for maximum savings, check out priceline.com's Inside Track www.priceline.com/insidetrack.

• Send those presents on ahead.  You see presents; the airlines see extra baggage and maybe some extra fees.  Not to mention how unhappy the security screeners will be to see those wrapped boxes.  Save yourself the hassle by mailing or shipping presents in advance (after you've wrapped them, of course).

• Weigh and measure your baggage.  Check your airline's maximum requirements for checked and carry-on bags to make sure you won't incur extra fees.  Note: baggage fees are charged separately for your outbound and return flights.   

About The Priceline Group
The Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN) is a leader in global online hotel reservations, with over 260,000 participating hotels worldwide.  The Group is composed of four primary brands – Booking.com, priceline.com, Agoda.com and Rentalcars.com – and several ancillary brands. The Priceline Group provides online travel services in over 180 countries in Europe, North America, South America, the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa.

Booking.com is the number one online hotel reservation service in the world, offering over 235,000 hotels (as of August 7, 2012), and is available in 41 languages.  More recent hotel counts are available on the Booking.com website. 

Priceline.com gives leisure travelers multiple ways to save on their airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises.  In addition to getting compelling published prices, travelers can take advantage of priceline.com's famous Name Your Own Price® service, which can deliver the lowest prices available, or the recently added Express Deals(SM), where travelers can take advantage of hotel discounts without bidding.  Agoda.com is an Asia-based online hotel reservation service that is available in 37 languages.  Rentalcars.com is a multinational car hire service, offering its reservation services in over 6,000 locations.  Customer support is provided in 38 languages.

SOURCE Priceline.com