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Tracy Davidson

Experienced consumer reporter, empowering people with information, getting results, always giving back.
Jul 12

Booking flights later could end up costing fliers more nowadays

Posted By
Jul 12, 2010 / 06:07 0

USA TODAY

Travelers are waiting to book flights closer to takeoff time, though the better strategy may be to plan far ahead.

Travelocity, the online travel agency, has found that summer travelers have been booking trips about four days later this year than they did two years ago, an average 73.3 days in advance compared with 76.8 days in 2008.

That may appear to be a small difference. But it’s an average, which means some people are waiting even closer to takeoff.

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And it’s at a time that seats on planes are more scarce.

Travel analysts attribute the lag time to travelers probably hoping for the last-minute bargains that were prevalent last year when airlines were struggling to fill empty seats in the midst of recession.

“Last year, airfares were falling as departure dates neared. That’s not true anymore,” says Genevieve Shaw Brown, senior editor of Travelocity.

FULL STORY: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/travel/2010-07-12-summertravel12_ST_N.htm

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