Window for holiday air travel deals closing

Going out of town for the holidays? If you still haven’t decided, you could miss the window for the best holiday air travel deals.

Sunrise Travel Inc. in Pocatello has been booking Thanksgiving and Christmas travel packages since June and July. Holley Henderson, owner, said she’s always seen customers who holiday travel often prepare long in advance for it.

She also says at this point, the options aren’t getting any cheaper.

“It’s just because as the seats fill up the prices go up,” Henderson said.

That’s why Marci Reddish booked her tickets to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for Thanksgiving six weeks ago. She and her family have been talking about it for three months.

This won’t be the first time the Reddish family will be traveling on a holiday.

“We give our kids an option, Christmas present or go on a trip over Thanksgiving,” Reddish said. “Almost every time they would rather travel.”

For people who want to travel, but haven’t booked yet, she has a quick message, “I wouldn’t put it off any longer.”

While the prices are going to go up, in comparison to last year the airfare has been a little lower. Domestic fare was down 6.8 percent in August compared to 2014, according to Airlines for America.

Henderson’s seen cheaper fare as she helped families book their vacations.

“Pocatello to Cabo is much lower than Salt Lake City to Cabo. Pocatello to most towns in California are less than Salt Lake City, too,” she said.

To give an idea of how early people book holiday vacations, Henderson said some have been booking Thanksgiving and Christmas packages back in June and July.

When booking airline tickets, a good thing to keep an eye out for is which airlines charge what fees. For example, some don’t charge for the first two bags or changing a ticket.