Thanksgiving round-trip airfare is averaging $402 this year — up 31% from 2025 and the highest holiday price travel analysts have tracked in a decade, according to Hopper's 2026 Holiday Travel Index. Christmas flights are following the same curve, averaging $452 round-trip, a 23% jump year over year.
Behind both numbers sits the same squeeze: higher jet fuel costs, a major budget carrier gone from the market, and airlines trimming unprofitable routes while raising fares and baggage fees. The silver lining is a closing window — Hopper's data points to booking before Halloween (Oct. 31) as the last real chance to beat these prices before they climb further heading into the holidays.
Thanksgiving fares jump 31% to $402 round-trip
A $402 average round-trip fare for Thanksgiving week is the steepest holiday increase travel analysts have tracked in ten years, FOX9 reported, citing Hopper's 2026 Holiday Travel Index. The 31% year-over-year increase outpaces overall inflation and most other travel costs, including hotels.
One date stands out as the worst offender: return flights on the Sunday after Thanksgiving are running above $600 round-trip, as travelers compress their trips into the shortest possible window and airlines price that demand accordingly.
Christmas flights average $452, up 23%
Christmas travel isn't far behind. Round-trip fares for the holiday are averaging $452, a 23% increase year over year, according to ABC News. International routes show a similar split: flights to Mexico and Central America are up 23% and European routes are up 15%, while fares to the Middle East, Asia and Oceania are flat or even lower than last year.
Why holiday airfare is so expensive this year
Three forces are stacking on top of each other to push fares to a decade high.
Jet fuel costs tied to Middle East conflict
Airlines are paying more to fly. Ongoing conflict in the Middle East has pushed jet fuel prices higher through 2026, and carriers have passed a chunk of that cost directly into ticket prices — holiday routes especially, where demand is inelastic and travelers book regardless of price.
Spirit Airlines' shutdown removed a budget carrier
A second, more structural factor: Spirit Airlines' shutdown this year eliminated one of the last ultra-low-cost options on many domestic routes. Spirit's presence used to force competitors to hold fares down; without it, legacy and low-cost carriers alike have more room to raise prices without losing passengers to a cheaper alternative.
Airlines cutting less-profitable routes and raising fees
Airlines have also been trimming schedules on routes that don't pencil out, concentrating capacity on their most profitable lanes, and layering on higher baggage and change fees. Fewer seats competing for the same holiday demand pushes the average fare up even before fuel costs are factored in.
The Halloween deadline — why this week matters
Hopper's guidance is specific: book in the next few weeks and before Halloween to lock in a lower fare. That's not scare-mongering — it reflects how holiday fares typically behave. Prices climb steadily as departure dates approach, and the gap between booking in October versus booking in mid-November can run into hundreds of dollars round-trip.
For budget-conscious travelers, Oct. 31 isn't a hard cutoff, but it's the last point where fares are still closer to this year's average than to the peak pricing airlines charge travelers who wait until the final weeks before Thanksgiving.
How to still save on holiday travel
A few practical moves can meaningfully undercut the averages above:
- Book before Oct. 31. Every week closer to Thanksgiving tends to push prices higher.
- Skip the Sunday-after-Thanksgiving return. It's the single most expensive day to fly home this year, with fares topping $600.
- Fly on Thanksgiving Day itself or Black Friday instead. Both are consistently cheaper than the days immediately before and after, since fewer travelers want to spend the holiday itself in transit.
- Lean into Thanksgiving for lodging. Hotel rates for Thanksgiving week are holding steady around $170 a night, while Christmas-week rates are up 18% to about $197 a night — so a Thanksgiving trip is the better value on the hotel side this year, even before airfare is factored in.
None of this erases the fact that holiday travel costs more in 2026 than it has in a decade. But travelers who shift their dates even slightly — and who book in the next couple of weeks rather than waiting — can still land meaningfully below this year's averages.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace professional travel advice. Figures are cited from Hopper's 2026 Holiday Travel Index, ABC News and FOX9 and are current as of publication. Found an error? Let the editors know via the contact page.
