Holiday-airfare deals? Probably not.
Flying during the holidays is often expensive, and this year isn't expected to be much different.
But travelers hoping to get the best possible price probably don't want to wait for a sale, particularly for flights through New Year's Day.
Experts generally say you should buy now if you see a fair price or are locked into a specific date.
"A lot of people are misled into believing that prices go down as much as they go up. They're checking the Internet 10 times a day, expecting a big bargain," said Dennis Karn of the Polaris Traveler agency.
"The big airlines have about 20 different categories of airfares. They'll announce a 'sale' after they've sold out of the lower fares, so the 'sale' fare is actually higher than you would've paid if you'd bought earlier."
Southwest Airlines launched a fare sale late Friday, running through tonight; although it advertises fares "as low as $59 each way," there aren't many of those to go around -- and it blocks out several peak days. Still, when Southwest runs sales, other airlines often follow suit on the same routes, so you might want to check fares today.
Karn said one exception to the "buy now" rule is charters to places such as Mexico.
"Charter operators like Apple Vacations are really in the hotel business. ... As I look at Christmastime right now, a lot of those flights are wide open," he said, adding that prices could drop, at least temporarily, in the coming weeks.
Another exception is for those who don't have to return from their holiday vacation until after Jan. 3 or 4.
Tom Parsons, founder of the website BestFares.com, said many airlines haven't run fare sales for January yet, which tends to be a slow month after the New Year's rush. Travelers can book their flights to their destinations, he said, and then hang back a bit to see whether January prices get better.
The cost of air travel not only is higher during the holidays because of increased demand, but supplies -- that is, available seats -- have fallen because airlines have cut routes to save money.
In addition, travel has become more costly because airline fees for things such as seat assignments and checked bags have continued to pile up.
"You'll notice airfares being higher. Nationally, I've heard that they're up double-digits, across the board, for the year to date," said Dana Crawford, senior travel agent for Uniglobe Travel Designers, located on the East Side.
Crawford said leisure travelers are "feeling the effect of being nickeled and dimed with extra charges." Some, she said, choose to fly with a carrier such as Southwest Airlines because of that, because Southwest does not charge for the first two checked bags and does not charge high fees for changing a reservation.
"They're not always the lowest-priced, but if people are adding in the extra fees, it's a good selling point," she said.
Crawford said fares to the West Coast seem to have risen more steeply in recent months.
Parsons concurs. He said Florida fares look pretty good by comparison this year, assuming that travelers avoid the most-popular dates just before and just after Christmas and New Year's.
"I think in some cases, the fares I'm seeing from Columbus to Florida are actually a little better than last year to Florida," Parsons said. He said he found a fare this week of $198 total between Columbus and Orlando.
That price will be higher around Christmas, but probably only by 10 to 20 percent on the nonpeak days, he said.
How much of a premium travelers will face for flights during the holiday period will vary by route.
For example, a search Friday on airfare website Kayak.com showed that a Saturday-to-Tuesday round trip from Columbus to Dallas two weeks before Christmas would cost 30 percent more if taken just before and just after Christmas: $271 compared with $353.
A round trip to Minneapolis on the same dates, while higher-priced to begin with, would be only 8 percent costlier just before and just after Christmas: $391 compared with $421.
Shopping tips
Airfares are always based on supply and demand, so odds are you'll spend more to travel on the most popular holiday dates. Tips from experts on keeping costs down:
* If you can, avoid peak days such as Dec. 23 and 24 and Jan. 1 and 2. Travel on those days can cost at least 30 percent more compared with other holiday-season dates.
* If you see a reasonable December fare, buy it now. Most experts think fares won't drop much, if at all, for travel through New Year's Day.
* If returning after Jan. 3, you might want to wait. After the immediate post-New Year's rush, air travel slows down. So, if you don't see a low fare now for those dates, you might want to book a one-way trip and wait for a lower return fare or decide to use other transportation to return, such as a rental car, if fares don't fall.
* Check alternative airports, but factor in added costs such as gas or parking. And remember that smaller airports aren't always cheaper. It all depends on where and when you want to go and what airlines are on specific routes.
* Tuesdays and Wednesdays are generally recommended as the best days to expect airfare sales, with Friday through Monday likely to have higher pricing.
Source: Dispatch research