Cheap Flights: Look for Airline Dead Zones

(photo: ChrisPederick/flickr)

As another year is upon many of us are already planning trips for the year and thinking about the cost and ways to save on a vacation. Rick Seaney, airfare expert, reported in USA Today last month about cheap flight deals during airline dead zones.

He recommends figuring out when everyone wants to fly, and then travel in the opposite season. Summer is popular therefore winter is a dead zone. But he cautions that peak holiday periods don't count.

Dead zones include:
- First two weeks of November.
- First two weeks of December.
- The month of January, beginning January 3rd.
- Most of February, excluding Valentine's Day weekend and the Super Bowl.
- Late August through September, excluding Labor Day holiday.

As a rule, Seaney indicates that the best dead zone travel prices occur in the 'dead of winter'.

The best times to shop for dead zone deals is at least three weeks before travel since sales for these periods require a 21-day advance purchase. The exception to the winter dead zone rule are to popular ski resort destinations and to places where people are seeking to escape the cold. So rule out Hawaii and the Caribbean.

Dead zones disappear during these periods:
- Summer from mid-June through late August.
- Spring Break - varies from mid-February to mid-April.
- Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel periods.

Click HERE to read the full article.