Holiday airfares have hit their highest level in at least a decade, with round-trip domestic fares for Thanksgiving averaging $402 — up 31% from last year — according to Hopper’s 2026 Holiday Travel Index.
Christmas fares are averaging $452, up 23% on last year. Hopper, the travel booking app, based its analysis on a week of flight searches in September, and attributed the increases to months of surging jet fuel prices tied to conflict in Iran, and to the collapse of Spirit Airlines.
The most expensive choices
The single most expensive choice a Thanksgiving traveller can make is flying home on Sunday, November 29 — typically the busiest travel day of the year. That return date averages $604 round-trip, about 72% higher than returning on Monday, November 30, or Tuesday, December 1, which average around $350.
On the departure side, Monday, November 23, is the cheapest Thanksgiving departure at an average of $370 round-trip. Thanksgiving Day itself averages $371, making it the second-cheapest option for travellers willing to fly on the holiday. Wednesday departures, by contrast, carry roughly a $50 premium over Monday.
For Christmas, the worst departure window is the weekend of December 18 to 20, when prices approach $500 per ticket. Fares to Mexico and Central America are up 23% and fares to Europe are up 15% for Christmas travel.
Why fares are so high
Spirit Airlines, which had operated hundreds of daily flights to leisure destinations including Orlando, Las Vegas and Fort Lauderdale, ceased all operations on May 2, 2026. Its collapse removed one of the country’s largest budget carriers — and the low-fare competitor that had historically held prices down on those routes.
Hopper’s recommendation was to book before Halloween for the lowest available fares. That window has now passed for Thanksgiving, and airlines typically reprice upward in the final four weeks before a major holiday as seats fill. One tip that still helps: flights departing between 5 and 8 a.m. are approximately half as likely to experience delays as those departing after 9 a.m.
Related: Cheapest Days to Fly for Thanksgiving and Christmas Revealed | Google Flights Reveals When Holiday Fares Bottom Out in 2026
Sources: Hopper 2026 Holiday Travel Index via WiseVoter (2 Nov 2026) and TravelersToday (2 Nov 2026); Hopper fare data as reported by the New York Post.
