Cheapflights.com Predicts September Spike in Holiday Airfare Searches; Advises Fliers to Book Holiday Travel Now for the Best Deals

BOSTON, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Think it is too early to start booking your holiday travel? Think again. "Competition for deals -- and for seats -- will be stiff. Fliers should absolutely start shopping now for the best holiday travel deals," says Nicola Corrigan, Deal Finder for travel-search engine Cheapflights.com.

According to Cheapflights' historical search trend data, the number of fliers searching for holiday airfares typically increases 20 percent between the second and third weeks of September, and another 15 percent during the fourth week. This spike sets the stage for increases in the number of holiday travel searches all through October -- an upward trend that continues right up to the holidays, according to Cheapflights' data.

"Since most low-cost airfare deals have a limited number of available seats, waiting to find and book travel, could leave holiday travelers at risk for paying higher airfare prices," Corrigan says.

"You'll be flying with an estimated 25 million other air travelers over Thanksgiving and another nine million over Christmas. Smart travelers will start planning holiday travel now, so they don't miss out on the best airfare and hotel deals," she says.

After your holiday airfare is booked, check out Cheapflights' new Holiday Air Travel Survival Guide. It's packed with tips from travel blogger Jerry Chandler for traveling stress-free this holiday season. Download the free guide and companion podcast at http://www.cheapflights.com/travel-guide-podcasts/ .

"This guide is just the ticket to help travelers fly home -- or wherever their final holiday destination may be -- as stress-free as possible this holiday season," Chandler said.

    Sample tips in the guide include:

    -- For Thanksgiving, avoid flying on Wednesday and Sunday -- usually the
       busiest travel days.

    -- Make airport pick-ups as painless as possible by checking the airport
       Web site to see if there's a cell phone waiting lot.  Many airports
       have them these days.  They're close to the terminal, and they're
       usually free.  People wait there for you to call, rather than endlessly
       circling -- and clogging -- the terminal roadway.

    -- If you're carrying on gifts  ...  forget about wrapping them, as TSA
       personnel may unwrap them to examine the contents.  A better option is
       to ship gifts, so there's less for you to carry -- and you can ship
       them already wrapped.

    -- Deck your suitcase with not one but two differently colored ribbons,
       avoiding yellow.  Why two?  Flyers have caught on to the fact that most
       suitcases look alike, and they've attached yellow ribbons to help
       differentiate their bags in the baggage claim area.

"Don't be the turkey who misses out on the best deals. Plan now for holiday travel with all the fixin's -- cheap flights, great hotels and, most importantly, minimal airport hassles," says Chandler.

Find more tips in the complete Holiday Air Travel Survival Guide and companion podcast, available at http://www.cheapflights.com/travel-guide-podcasts/ .

Graph available upon request.

About Cheapflights.com

Travel-search engine Cheapflights.com publishes nearly one million low- cost airfare deals, plus thousands of low-priced hotel deals -- from hundreds of different travel providers, including handpicked deals and exclusive deals not available anywhere else.