Trying to find the cheapest airfare and scheduling a flight could take the fun out of going home for the holidays for many University of Memphis students, but planning in advance to prepare for holiday travel could be one way to make the process less stressful.
"The fares are ugly this year," said Valerie Wince, account manager at the Travelennium office located on campus. Wince heard of a lady trying to make travel plans for her family, and the plane tickets were $1,100 per person to Seattle.
Wince said the price depends on the city a person wants to visit. She also said it is all about "flexibility, flexibility, flexibility."
Wince said students who plan to fly out of town for the holidays should be aware of blackout dates. Every airline has certain dates blacked out for travel. Blackout dates do not mean people can't fly on the dates. They just mean the airfare will be more expensive than normal.
For the Thanksgiving season, the blackout dates are Nov. 23, Nov. 26, Nov. 27 and Nov. 28.
For the Christmas season, the blackout dates are Dec. 15 through 18, Dec. 21 through 23, Dec. 26 to 31 and Jan. 1 to 4.
Wince said airlines probably schedule the blackout dates when people are most likely to travel in order to make more money. Wince said these dates are not the same for every airline, but "the dates are pretty standard across the board."
"I am going to North Carolina in December and flying through AirTran because it is really cheap," said Clare Torina, a U of M fine art painting major.
Torina said AirTran only commutes to about 40 cities, but it offers reasonable prices. "There are no student discounts," Torina said, but they offer sale fares.
For example, Torina also said if a person purchases 64 drinks at Wendy's, they earn a round-trip ticket through AirTran Airlines.
Joe Cummings, a manager of a local Wendy's, said the restaurant does have a promotion that allows people to purchase beverages in order to win airline tickets. If a person buys 32 drinks, a one-way ticket will be awarded, and if a person buys 64 drinks, a round-trip ticket will be awarded, all sponsored in part by AirTran Airlines.
"I think the promotion is a great idea and I will be at Wendy's buying as many drinks as I can," said Christine Graves, a senior nursing student. "I won't drink them all because all I really want is the plane ticket.
Regardless of the travel arrangements a student makes, it is important to plan ahead because most airfares increase on a daily basis.
"I live in St. Louis, and it would be nice to fly home but it is so stressful and time consuming to reserve a flight over the holidays so I normally drive," said Chelsey Canter, a U of M student.
