So many factors play into holiday airfares that it's hard to know when to buy anymore, reports The New York Times.
"One of the problems is that everybody looks for a rule of thumb, and it is different depending on the market you are traveling," Patrick Surry, the chief data scientist at Hopper, a website and app that advises travelers when to book flights, tells The Times.
There are so many variables, so when is the best time to buy?
"A survey by the travel search company Skyscanner found that 39 percent of holiday travelers say they prefer to book four to six weeks ahead of departure, with the rest choosing to book months, if not one full year, in advance," notes Justin Sablich.
And for these people, all hope is not lost.
"The prices start off pretty high, because people tend to have limited flexibility when it comes to Thanksgiving," Surry tells The Times. "But they stay flat up until probably three weeks out, when they start to ramp up, and in the last 10 days they really spike."
[READMORE]READ MORE: It's Never Too Early for Holiday Travel Tips [/READMORE]
However, now is the time to start really thinking about travel.
"If you book between now and the end of October, you'll likely spend around $325 for an average domestic flight, according to Hopper. Waiting until November will cost about $58 more a ticket, according to analysis by CheapAir.com," writes Sablich.
For more on how to save on holiday travel, read on here.
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