SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) –While many people are still fitting in their final days of summer travel, AAA is reminding people to make sure their holiday travel plans are already set. They say it’s more important than ever to book your Christmas travel by July.
“When would you like to go to Spain? ” AAA Travel Agent Terry Ten Cate said.
Many people may have some big plans for their holiday vacation time this year…
“Those flights on December 20th are already sold out,” Ten Cate said.
…but if you’re just starting to look at booking travel, you may be in for a shock.
“You’re going to see a lot of limited space available, whether it’s on the airplane or at the resort, because people are booking so much farther in advance,” Ten Cate said.
Ten Cate says he and other agents at AAA travel in Sioux Falls have been booking holiday travel for months.
“We’ve been booking Christmas since Christmas, honestly when Christmas is over, in January or so, people are planning on Christmas travel for next year,” Ten Cate said.
It’s why travel options are already getting limited for holiday travel, especially with the continued impact of the labor shortage.
“It used to be that there were more flights in the air than there are today, we just don’t have the pilots and the flight attendants and everyone to work those flights,”
Right now Ten Cate says flight options are already more limited than usual.
“I have heard in some locations airlines have close to 100 aircraft that are grounded because they just don’t have the staffing to get them back in the air,” Ten Cate said.
That shortage combined with the pent-up demand for travel is also causing prices to climb.
“This year it seems like there’s a pent up demand, we’ve been home in some cases for two or three years and haven’t been able to go anywhere; now everything is open, the world is open, so people are saying this year we’re going to go,” Ten Cate said.
Another reason why booking early is so important if you plan to travel during the busy holiday season.
“Book early and feel very confident that you’re going to end up saving money by booking early,” Ten Cate said.
AAA says many people wait to book airline tickets to get a better deal, but the longer you wait, the fewer options you’ll have, especially for nonstop flights or the shorter travel routes.
