Last Minute Holiday Flights 2016: Travel Deals To Consider For Christmas And Beyond

With Christmas less than a week away, booking a last-minute flight out of town will be a little crazy.

Yet last-minute trip booking is a hallowed tradition in U.S. culture with travelers seeking more up-to-date deals or simply just waiting until the last-minute to book a flight. Seventy-six percent of solo travelers, 86 percent of couples and 80 percent of families of three or more waited until after December started to book their holiday flights in the U.S. in 2014, a 2015 report from data source ADARA (via Skift) indicated.

Thankfully, there will always be airlines and online booking services for last-minute travel needs. Travel deal websites like Kayak, Expedia, Skyscanner and Hipmunk all offer daily deals, especially if you sign up for their newsletters and emails in advance.

In addition, signing up for rewards, miles or points through airlines like JetBlue, American Airlines or Virgin America could result in special flight offers as they are released by the airlines.

For the remainder of the winter months, flights to London, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo will be cheaper than they have been in the past several years, Rick Seaney, founder of ticket comparison and travel planning site FareCompare.com, told Conde Nast Traveler.

For last-minute holiday deals abroad, Skyscanner is currently offering deals on quick flights in December (many for less than $300) to destinations like Mexico, Jamaica, Costa Rica and St. Maarten. Some domestic flights, like to Philadelphia, Denver, Oakland, Atlanta and San Diego, for the remaining days in December, are still less than $300 as well.

When it comes to the actual days of travel, Cheapair.com advocated booking a flight on Christmas Day, or Dec. 27 through New Year’s Day. The site also recommends booking a flight Tuesday through Tuesday, as opposed to weekends.