Flying home for the holidays is going to cost you big time this year.
Airfares are up nearly 40% from the same time last year, and travel experts say fares will continue to go up from here.
"Our normal trick of book on Thanksgiving Day or book on Christmas Eve, those tricks aren’t even working this year," said Clint Henderson, managing editor for The Points Guy.
One of the reasons for the uptick in prices is there just aren't enough flight attendants, pilots or planes.
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Also, the number of flights has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, Henderson said.
"I would suggest if you have any miles or points, right now is the time to use them because you’re going to get the absolute maximum value for those points compared to the cash price, in general," he said.
Scott Keyes, founder of Scott's Cheap Flights, says with inflation, domestic flight prices are actually returning to where they were three years ago.
So, next time, try to book in the summer. But if you want a great deal for next week and don't mind ditching your family, head overseas.
"I checked right before coming on. If you want to fly over Thanksgiving out of the Bay Area, there are flights available out of San Jose over to Milan in northern Italy for $586 roundtrip," Keyes said. "That’s less than what it would cost to fly over to Wichita, Kansas."
AAA projects 4.5 million people will fly for Thanksgiving next week, 8% more than last year.
