The study, which used popular Labor Day destinations from years past to analyze price trends, discovered that – not surprisingly – the earlier a traveler books a flight, the better the price of the ticket. Fares increased by as much as $174 between Aug. 1, 2013, and Aug. 22, 2013, depending on the destination.
However there is still time to purchase a flight before fares significantly increase. Historical data shows a clear sweet spot for Labor Day bookings made in early August. While prices fluctuated last year prior to Aug. 8 (going up and down +/-10%), all markets experienced a dramatic price increase three weeks (Aug. 9-16) before Labor Day. In some instances, the fare increase during that period was as much as 33%.
If history repeats itself, then the window of opportunity is closing for travelers to score lower Labor Day fares.
"It is not unusual for airlines to bump up their prices to capitalize on last-minute bookings," said Warren Chang, vice president and general manager, Fly.com. "Waiting to book flights for Labor Day travel can come with a hefty price tag. Our latest study shows that Americans should try to book their holiday flights before August 9th of this year."
Fly.com used data collected from more than one million user searches and extracted domestic flights with departure dates between Aug. 28-31, 2013, and return dates Sept. 1-4, 2013. The study period included all searches conducted between July 15 and Aug. 22, 2013, to Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, and San Juan (Puerto Rico).
