Tips for holiday airfare booking

Here are some tips on booking airfares for the holidays from the crystal ball at Farecast.com, which uses past airfare data to predict future airfare patterns.

If you’re booking airfare for Thanksgiving, flexibility with return dates can yield some good deals. Travelers who extend their trip past Thanksgiving weekend to return on Monday or Tuesday can save $60-$100 per ticket, according to Farecast.com.

For December holiday travel, flexibility with your date of departure is the key to saving money. In addition, avoiding the popular Friday or Saturday Christmas departure dates -- Dec. 21-22 -- could save you more than $90 per ticket, Farecast.com said in its analysis. And avoiding a return flight on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, could also save $25 on average.

As for when to buy your ticket, Farecast.com said many Christmas itineraries experienced price drops in the past on Oct. 1 and Oct. 14-15.

But expect to pay more than last year. Farecast.com says fares are running 3-7 percent higher than in 2006.

Farecast’s “Holiday Predictions” utilized historical prices for 2,000 popular routes focusing on Christmas and Thanksgiving trips lasting between two and eight days. You can sign up for e-mail alerts or get free airfare predictions for your holiday travel at www.farecast.com.