USA Today reports that airlines are cutting 3,000 flights during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. That's going to make tickets massively more expensive than during any other Thanksgiving in recent memory.
But the more significant story is that -- outside of that trend -- the economy has declined so much that airfares are dropping left and right. The bellwether here is Southwest Airlines, which has great fares on travel up until just before Christmas.
Meanwhile, the slowing of the travel business also means that hotels are a deal. The Orlando Sentinel reports September stats for hotels near Disney World show that only 30% of rooms were filled. That means 70% went empty every night! People are on strike when it comes to spending money for leisure travel. In Las Vegas, ultra-high end hotels are being offered in the $70 range, according to posts on BiddingforTravel.com.
The bottom-line is this: There are deals and there will continue to be until the economy gets stronger -- unless you're looking at limited travel times like Thanksgiving. Try arranging to see your family the weekend before or after the holiday to beat the high fares.
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What others are saying
Thanksgiving in Paris
The higher fares must not apply to European travels. We got two non-stop roundtrip tickets to Paris for $686 apiece. I know this isn’t the best time of year to go (cold and possibly rainy), but it still is Paris. You can double that price if you go in peak season. Hotels are much cheaper this time of year in Paris too.
Disney Hotels
We went to Disney last year during early December like your caller is looking to do and we were surprised that the rooms were all booked. It turned out that there was a Pop Warner Football convention that week and Disney was "packed" with kids. Call Disney or the Orlando Chamber of Commerce and see if there are any large groups due in town. That may influence your decision to go. We were very disappointed as the staff was reduced for this normally slow period but the attendance was up.
