The holidays are quickly approaching, which means there is potential for record-breaking travel yet again.
NerdWallet’s annual holiday travel report expects Americans to spend $311 billion on flights and hotels this year, totaling $2,586 a person, which is up nearly $260 from last year.
“The longer you wait to book holiday travel, the more expensive it is going to get,” said Sally French, who tracks travel for NerdWallet.
“This is really the week that you want to be booking your Thanksgiving travel and we are not far out from the week that you wanna make sure you’ve got your Christmas locked in,” she said.
French advises having Christmas travel booked the first week of November. NerdWallet says at least 51 days out is the best timing for Christmas bookings – which is Nov. 4.
Meanwhile, for those driving to their Thanksgiving destination, they can expect to see lower gas prices as gas prices nationally are falling and approaching $3 per gallon. Parts of Oklahoma and Ohio could even see prices dip below $2 per gallon.
Potential record travel
Thanksgiving in 2024 was the busiest Thanksgiving ever at airports across the country, but those records could be shattered this year.
Booking data from Cirium comparing 2024 to 2025 shows holiday trips booked between June 30 and Oct. 8 are up 2.2% for Thanksgiving and up nearly 1% for the week of Christmas.
“I think the entire fourth quarter, the fall break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, they’re all likely to set records with strong demand,” United CEO Scott Kirby said.
This Thanksgiving, airlines are adding about 250,000 more seats in an effort to keep up with the growing demand.
“As long as the economy keeps growing, I think that pace can continue,” Kirby said.
