Approximately 21.7 million passengers will take to the sky during the 2005 Thanksgiving holiday, traditionally the busiest travel period of the year.

But for those procrastinators with roughly two weeks left to book a flight, travel officials say if they've waited until this late in the game to purchase turkey-day tickets, their credit card is in for its own mile-high rates.

"Those days go right away," said Sherry Dyer, co-owner of Salt Lake-based Dyer's International Travel. "Usually, if you don't have a major reservation by Labor Day, you're not going to get what you need. . . . There are seats left, if you're willing to pay for them. But they're at the premium rates."

Discount and bargain seats are near impossible to find now, particularly because numerous airlines are cutting down capacity by using smaller planes, dropping routes, flying less and even stopping service in some cities.

According to an analysis by consulting firm Sabre Airline Solutions for USA Today, ticket prices for peak Thanksgiving travel days are up 15 percent from last year.

Airline financial woes that have led to reductions in continental flying are the likely cause of the price increase, Sabre consultant Steven Hendrickson said.

"There are fewer seats in the market, and the airlines are filling their planes," he said.

It's the negative post-9/11 effect, in which the travel industry took a huge hit and many in the industry are still struggling to recuperate, Dyer said.

"Travel is up, and there are just not as many flights flying," said the 31-year travel industry veteran. "(Airlines) haven't put as many flights back into the system."

Although fewer flights and ever-decreasing seats mean pricey tickets, more Americans are traveling by air this year. The projected 21.7 million air passengers compares to 16.3 million passengers traveling last holiday season, according to the Air Transport Association, and translates into great news for the travel industry.

Thanksgiving 2004 was a milestone for the industry, still struggling from the 9/11 whammy. Last November, Americans took to the skies, streets and seas and broke the holiday travel record set in 2000, according to AAA.

"It's a very few number of days when you travel for the Thanksgiving holidays. There's a two-week time frame with Christmas. But Thanksgiving, it's Thursday to Sunday. That really is it. We always experience really, really heavy Thanksgiving travel," Dyer said.

The Deseret Morning News researched flights on three major airlines and one travel Web site for holiday airline travel three days before and the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas. The cheapest and most expensive one-way, economy class flights from Salt Lake City to nine major cities across the United States were recorded for each respective company.

Flying three days before Thanksgiving rather than the day before could save a passenger an average of $52. But book fast — flights on American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were rapidly rising. Over the two-day period the Deseret Morning News looked up flights on the three airlines Web sites, the cost of many flights on Nov. 23 increased. For example, a morning flight to Atlanta on Delta rose from $274.40 to $369.60; a flight to Denver on American Airlines rose from $265 to $465.50.

To avoid airport crowds and save money, flying out on a less busy day — such as Thanksgiving Day itself — could be a viable option. Many airlines say planes on Thanksgiving are half full and airports are nearly empty.

But as for delaying the purchase of tickets for a Christmas getaway, Dyer says it isn't too late to begin planning. Although ideally, purchasing a ticket three months in advance will most likely ensure a coveted flight time, travelers can save money by flying before or after the 21st or 22nd of December, two high-peak days.

According to the Deseret Morning News research, flying on Christmas Eve rather than three days before Santa's visit will save an average of $48.

"But if you're going anywhere that's warm, even if you're returning home to a place that's warm, it's tricky because people are trying to get away to their winter vacations," warns Dyer, particularly from Dec. 26 to New Year's Day.

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Travelers booking over the Internet should keep checking the Web and they might get lucky. Sometimes airlines run inventory specials to get rid of empty seats. Checking airline or travel Web sites late at night or early in the morning, when fewer people book flights, is the best option for bargain prices, Dyer said.

"The last-minute fares go on sale just a few days before travel," said Robin Urbanski, spokeswoman for United Airlines. "On Tuesdays, we publish our last-minute fares for the upcoming weekend. If we've got a plane that has a lot of seats unsold, we'd put them on sale."


Contributing: Knight Ridder

E-mail: astowell@desnews.com

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