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Best days to fly for the holidays

Holiday Cheap Flights Report 2021

As travel continues to recover and more Americans feel safe to travel, all projections signal a very busy holiday season for 2021.

CheapAir’s Holiday Flights Report helps you make decisions about holiday airfare. Our simple color-coded calendars and charts will lend a hand so you can identify the best days to purchase your airfare at the lowest prices.

This year airfares are trending almost 10% less than 2019 prices, but about 13% more than last year. This is important, because though the fares are slightly more expensive than last year, prices were 20% cheaper than normal in 2021 – a precipitous drop in holiday airfare just doesn’t usually happen. We have the pandemic to thank for that. But in context, we’re still seeing lower prices on average than we might have expected, and a lot of great value days for travelers.

Don’t wait until prices go up. Demand will almost certainly be greater than available flights this year. We recommend buying early.

How Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Flights are Trending

Thanksgiving Airfare Trend by Day
Expected Airfare Fluctuations by Purchase Month

We track 11,000 airfares for flights during the holiday season every day. From this data, we identify the average fare for the most popular markets to bring you the CheapAir Holiday Flights Report.

Christmas Airfare Trend by Day
Expected Airfare Fluctuations by Purchase Month

We track 11,000 airfares for flights during the holiday season every day. From this data, we identify the average fare for the most popular markets to bring you the CheapAir Holiday Flights Report.

2021 Winter Flights Calendar

2021 Winter Holidays

NOV
25
Thanksgiving
DEC
25
Christmas
JAN
1
New Year Day
DEEP DISCOUNTS
GOOD VALUE
A LITTLE PRICEY
HIGHEST FARES

Thanksgiving Calendar

Thanksgiving Calendar

Nov 2021
  • Sun
  • Mon
  • Tue
  • Wed
  • Thu
  • Fri
  • Sat
  • 31
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
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  • 15
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  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • Nov 24 As tends to be the case, Tuesday and Wednesday are great value travel days if you want to save some money.
  • Nov 25 Travel on Thanksgiving is a great value, especially on shorter flights that can get you to your destination in time for dinner. Flying on Thursday can save you $25/ticket compared to the next cheapest travel day.
  • Nov 28 No big surprise here. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is historically one of the most expensive travel days of the year. You can save $90/ticket on average if you can fly home on Monday, and a whopping $180/ticket on average if you can push it to Tuesday.
  • Nov 30 The cheapest day to fly over Thanksgiving week (for the second year in a row) is the Tuesday after the holiday. The difference between flying home on Sunday and Tuesday is close to $200 on average.

Christmas Calendar

Christmas Calendar

Dec 2021 - Jan
  • Sun
  • Mon
  • Tue
  • Wed
  • Thu
  • Fri
  • Sat
  • 28
  • 39
  • 30
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • Dec 24 Christmas Eve is usually pretty pricey as departure dates go. This year, the night before Christmas has some of the best savings of the week!
  • Dec 26 Flying home the Sunday after Christmas is going to be the most expensive option this holiday season. You can save over $125/ticket on average by waiting two extra days and flying home on Tuesday.
  • Jan 1 New Year’s Day falls on Saturday this year and offers good value for the money. In fact, if you’re planning a NYE getaway, you can save by flying on the 29th, 30th, 31st and 1st!
  • Jan 4 Usually the Monday after New Year’s offers some deep flight discounts, but this year you have to wait until to get the deep flight discounts. Fly home on Tuesday and save about $85/ticket on average.
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