Archives September 2022

Travel Holiday

What to know before you book flights for Thanksgiving, Christmas

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Hopper Lead Economist Hayley Berg details how expensive holiday travel is already forecasted to be and how to save on travel bookings.

Video Transcript

SEANA SMITH: Well, speaking of traveling, millions are getting ready to hit the skies this holiday season. And if you’re one of those travelers, you better get ready to pay more. Flights this holiday season are expected to be at the highest levels that we’ve seen in five years. For more on that, we want to bring in Hayley Berg, Hopper’s lead economist. Hayley, it’s great to see you again. So I guess, first, how many people are expected to travel, and how much more should people be prepared to pay this year?

HAYLEY BERG: We’re expecting to see a huge surge in travel over this holiday season. Keep in mind that in 2020 and in 2021, we see huge depression in travel demand at the

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Travel Holiday

Holiday flight prices are expected to be the highest in years

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Expect some sticker shock this holiday season when it comes to flight prices.

According to travel booking app Hopperprices for flights over Thanksgiving and Christmas are expected to reach their highest point in the past five years.

For Thanksgiving, that means domestic round-trip airfare will be an average of $350, 22 percent higher than 2019. Over Christmas, domestic flights are expected to cost $463 on average, up a whopping 31 percent compared with pre-pandemic prices. For international flights, trips during Thanksgiving are up 25 percent to $795 and up 26 percent to $1,300 at Christmas compared with 2019.

Blame many of the same forces that made summer travel so expensive this year.

When you should book holiday flights

“Basically, the number one driver of why we’re seeing such high prices is there’s pent-up demand from people not traveling over the last few years,” said Andrew Heritage, an economist at

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Travel Holiday

Experts Predict What 2022 Holiday Travel Will Be Like

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Two and a half years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re still feeling its effects on the travel industry in big ways.

This summer has been one of the most frustrating periods, as travelers have had to navigate canceled flights, lost luggage, escalating prices and a general sense of chaos. But will this trend persist into the holiday season?

Below, experts share their predictions for holiday travel this year ― as well as advice for keeping the stress to a minimum.

Even more people will travel for the holidays this year.

“While I still think 2022 holiday season travel numbers will lag behind 2019, they will be well above 2021 and 2020 totals,” Phil Dengler, co-founder of The Vacationer, told HuffPost. “The majority of COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, which really puts the virus out of a lot of people’s minds when they consider traveling. On most

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Travel Holiday

The best time to buy your holiday plane tickets

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If the summer was any indication, air travel’s hustle and bustle will carry over into the end of the year.

That’s the outlook from airlines and the tourism industry going into the fall travel season and looking forward to the winter holidays.

Hopper, a travel agency that analyzes data for airfare price predictions, is seeing strong booking demand for holiday travel after an “extraordinary” summer.

The pent-up demand after two pandemic years is in part because, for some travelers, this will be the first time they visit family for the holidays since COVID-19 erupted, said Hopper spokeswoman Lindsay Schwimer.

“Last year omicron was surging around the holiday season, so people will be eager to take holiday trips this year and see family and friends,” she said.

Is air travel getting back to normal?:I went to Europe this summer and so did my suitcase

Which day is the cheapest to

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Travel Holiday

If you’re booking holiday travel, AAA says the time is now | What to know

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PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — If you’re even thinking about booking holiday airline travel, AAA says the time to do it is now.

We are coming off a pretty stressful summer travel season, so travel experts have a playbook to follow if you want to save money and avoid travel headaches.

If you’ve traveled lately, you know the prices are at record highs and the inventory is low.

Sadly, that’s not going to change heading into the busy holiday season, so the time to book is now.

“Inventory is plentiful now and you have a better chance of getting what you want, the seats that you want and the flights that you want,” says Jana Tidwell, a spokesperson for AAA. “Right now, there’s much better pricing than if you wait closer to the holidays.”

Now, let’s talk about the delays and cancellations that have plagued travelers all summer.

AAA suggests padding your

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