Holiday flight prices swing a lot depending on when you book, and multiple outlets citing 2026 fare data put the average Thanksgiving round-trip at around $402 -- up 31% year over year. The good news is the optimal booking windows are fairly well documented.
When to book Thanksgiving flights in 2026
Fare-tracking sources consistently point to 8-12 weeks before travel as the sweet spot for Thanksgiving flights -- meaning most of October through early November for a late-November trip. Missing this window doesn't guarantee a higher price, but last-minute Thanksgiving fares have reportedly run 40-60% above the optimal-window price in past seasons.
Best time to buy Christmas flights in 2026
Christmas fares follow a slightly different pattern -- Going.com and Dollar Flight Club fare data point to roughly 51 days before travel as the average sweet spot, with a wider range of 32 to 73 days. Prices have been reported to climb $100-200 within the last 21 days before departure.
How early should you book holiday flights, exactly?
"Early" isn't the same for every holiday -- booking Thanksgiving flights the way you'd book Christmas flights (or vice versa) means you could be booking either too early or too late relative to the historically cheapest window for that specific trip.
Cheapest days to fly Thanksgiving and how to check your own window
Beyond timing, flying out on a Tuesday and returning on a Friday tends to be cheaper than the Wednesday-out, Sunday-back pattern most travelers default to. To check where your specific trip falls, the Holiday Flight Booking Window Savings Estimator compares today's date and your travel date against the reported windows for Thanksgiving or Christmas -- no price-prediction algorithm, just transparent published data.
Try the Holiday Flight Booking Window Savings Estimator →
Sources: The Points Guy; Islander News; Going.com; Dollar Flight Club.