Procrastination may no longer be best for airfares

The kids are back in school, and travel is likely the last thing on your mind. But it's never too early to start scouting the best of those holiday airfare deals -- which are now becoming more widespread and plentiful.

Post-Labor Day sales are popping up among many major carriers, and at least one fare watcher thinks early might be the best time to buy. Before the fall, procrastination seemed to pay off: People were buying tickets later, and airlines were jumping to get fare sales in for last-minute deals. But as the economy improves and airlines can better predict passenger numbers, cheap near-term fares are going to be harder to come by, Travelzoo Senior Editor Gabe Saglie said.

Some airlines are getting more aggressive with fare sales by posting them on social networking sites such as Twitter. JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin America have all given Web-savvy customers a leg up on sales.

People are waiting longer to book trips these days, as they worry about affording a trip down the road. And the airlines have adjusted, slashing fares for closer departure dates. But they know more people will fly during the holidays, so those cheap fares we're all growing accustomed to -- at least the wide number of deals -- won't last forever. And although fares are down from last year, the airlines are still going to charge more for a ticket on peak days around Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Low fares are prevalent now for travel through early winter, and Saglie said that waiting for them to get even better might not be the best move. Because the airlines expect more people to travel around the holidays, they likely won't be as willing to dish out as many last-minute deals.

Sure, some deals will come. But they might not be on the routes or times you want them, so if you know you're definitely going to travel somewhere over the holidays, Saglie suggests you start looking soon.

The key to grabbing a cheap fare is all in the research. If you know you want to fly around Thanksgiving, for example, check travel Web sites like Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia periodically to review how the fares for your chosen dates are fluctuating. Also, it's helpful to set up alerts from travel deal newsletter services like Travelzoo and checking fare history charts on sites like Kayak.com.

It's a good time to start shopping for those early deals. This will give you a good idea of what prices are now, even if you don't choose to book right away. An even cheaper flight might be around the corner, as airlines begin to survey passenger demand in the fall season, but it isn't likely that Thanksgiving or Christmas fares have that much further to fall, Saglie said.

But this is where your research will come in handy.

"The bottom line is it is very volatile in the airline marketplace," said Rick Seaney, CEO of FareCompare.com. "Know what a good price is."

And when you see it, buy it.

"There's a fine line between procrastination and just waiting for the right time."