Ready, Set, Go: Thanksgiving & Christmas Domestic Travel Data Revealed

Skyscanner takes a deep dive to deliver major data nuggets for all prospective Thanksgiving and Christmas travelers

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Sep 17, 2018, 08:00 ET

MIAMI, Sept. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Summer is over, kids are back in school, and it's time to think about the next great escape for you and your loved ones. The countdown is on – 66 days until Thanksgiving, 99 days until Christmas – and there are deals for the taking. Skyscanner.com, the global travel search engine, in its commitment to make the travel planning process as seamless and budget-friendly as possible, has collated and analyzed data from its more than 60 million monthly users to give travelers everything they need to know.

There are a lot of presumptions when it comes to the best time to book as it relates to the day of the week. Skyscanner data finds there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to this as it varies by market; however, after taking a deep dive, the data shows some days are surprisingly bigger winners than others:

Skyscanner: Cheapest day to book your flight to trending Thanksgiving destinations
Atlanta	Monday, Friday
Chicago	Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday
Denver	Saturday
Las Vegas	Friday
Los Angeles	Friday
Miami	Friday
New York	Friday
Orlando	Monday
San Francisco	Tuesday, Friday
Washington	Friday

Skyscanner also identified the best and worst travel dates for each top Thanksgiving domestic destination. There are certainly a ton of consistencies – in other words, aim to travel on November 5, 12, 19, 25, 26, and avoid November 3, 10, 17, 22 if you can. Below please find the data broken down by market:

Skyscanner: When to depart for top Thanksgiving domestic destinations
Destination	Worst Dates	Best Dates
New York	November 1, 10, 16 22	November 5,12, 19, 25
Miami	November 4, 10, 17, 22	November 5, 14, 19, 26
Los Angeles	November 3, 10, 17, 22	November 6, 12, 19, 25
Las Vegas	November 3, 10, 17, 22	November 12, 14, 19, 26
Chicago	November 3, 10, 17, 22	November 5, 12, 19, 25
Washington	November 3, 10, 17, 22	November 6, 12, 14, 19
San Francisco	November 3, 10, 17, 22	November 5, 7, 14, 19
Orlando	November 3, 10, 17, 23	November 6, 12, 19, 26
Denver	November 3, 10, 17, 22	November 5, 12, 19, 25
Atlanta	November 3, 10, 17, 22	November 6, 13, 19, 25

As previously reported, September is the best month to book when it comes to Thanksgiving, but it's also the most favorable time for any travelers hoping to spend Christmas elsewhere. Here are Skyscanner's top data nuggets to help travelers navigate the Christmas travel quagmire:

Skyscanner: Christmas
Best savings for Christmas travelers (domestic):	Week of September 17 (15% savings)
Best savings for Christmas travelers (international):	Week of September 17 (4% savings)
Best month to book:	September
Worst savings:	Week of December 17 followed by week of December 24
Average search lead-time:	66 days out (October 20)

For more information and inspiration, please visit Skyscanner's news site where all holiday travel data for Thanksgiving and Christmas are broken down further.

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*Data Methodology:
Skyscanner holiday travel data is based on historic search and exit data collated over the past two years. US to US round-trip travel for one-adult ticket was analyzed.

About Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a leading global travel search company providing free search of flights, hotels and car rental. Founded in 2003 Skyscanner helps to meet the travel planning needs of over 60 million people each month. Skyscanner is available in over 30 languages. Skyscanner's highly-rated free mobile app has been downloaded over 70 million times. The privately-owned company employs over 900 staff and has ten global offices in Edinburgh, Singapore, Beijing, Shenzhen, Miami, Barcelona, Glasgow, Sofia, Budapest and London. For more information, please visit http://www.skyscanner.com and our travel news site.