Traveling at Thanksgiving can be one of the most stressful things you’ll do all year, but if you end up paying too much for your ticket that’s just adding insult to injury. There’s not necessarily much you can do to make the airport less crowded or the weather any more pleasant for flying, but there’s definitely something you can do to make sure you’re getting the best deal possible on your ticket.
A few somethings, in fact.
In this article we’ll look at the best ways to find cheap airfare for Thanksgiving travel, some of which are tips that will apply to non-holiday travel and some of which really are targeted to these overly busy times at the airport. For starters, you should pat yourself on the back for taking the first step in getting a deal on Thanksgiving airfare – you’re doing the research. Well done.
Now take that forward momentum further with these tips, too.
>> Thanksgiving in 2012 is on Thursday, November 22
>> Find out more about Thanksgiving travel deals
So you’re planning to fly somewhere over Labor Day weekend? The good news is that getting through the airport won’t be as much of a headache as it can be (and usually is) around Thanksgiving or Christmas. The bad news is that the airport is still going to be busier than normal, and planes are still going to be full. Which all adds up to one thing – it’s a very good idea to be prepared to handle a busy airport, even if said airport doesn’t materialize.
Labor Day weekend in the United States generally means backyard barbecues or summer picnics, and usually it’s a big gathering of family or friends (or both). Most of the time, it just means a road trip to wherever the festivities are taking place, but the idea of getting a great deal on a plane ticket over Labor Day might just make you rethink the ho-hum barbecue route.
The three-day weekend that is Labor Day in America is the traditional last hurrah of summer before kids head back to school and adults think about digging sweaters off the high shelves at the back of their closets – so it’s not surprising that people try to make the most of it by getting out of town and traveling one last time before they start hunkering down for the fall and winter.
Memorial Day is traditionally considered the kick-off event for summer, so it’s not surprising that it’s a big weekend for holiday trips. For many people, that means a getaway to a nearby beach or the first of the season’s many camping trips. For others, it’s the perfect excuse to take advantage of travel deals before the high summer prices kick in. Whatever your reason, whatever your destination, we’d like to help you get there for less this Memorial Day.
Traveling around any holiday can be a pain. We’ve all heard the horror stories of how busy the airport gets before and after Thanksgiving, and Christmas is only marginally better. You might not expect Memorial Day to be a terrible time to be at the airport, since most people drive to their holiday weekend destination – but you’re still going to see more people at airports just before and after Memorial Day weekend than you do the weekend before or after.
Most of the time travel tips are more location-dependent, which is why you’re going to find guidebooks for places in the bookstores rather than something called a “Memorial Day Travel Guide.” But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some Memorial Day travel tips that are good to think about regardless of where you’re going.
For many people, Memorial Day weekend travel plans usually include nothing more than heading to the backyard of whichever friend or relative hosts the best barbeque in town. But if you’d like to have grander plans for this kickoff-to-summer weekend, then you might want to consider some places you can’t easily drive to. Which means you’ll want to figure out how to find cheap airfare on Memorial Day weekend.
Let’s just say you didn’t read up on the 
Hey, slacker, what is taking you so long to purchase your airline ticket for the holidays? Yeah, I’m talking to you. You’re the one who thought about getting a ticket a few weeks ago but you were too lazy to take out your credit card and to punch in your information on the computer. Now you are getting calls every day from your family members asking when you will be home for the holidays. The guilt is hanging over your head like an anvil falling off a cliff onto Wile E. Coyote.