Pricing and Availability

• International flight costs typically increase between 6 and 10 percent during the Christmas season alone. Families may fly across the nation to have Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas or New Year's parties. Airplane seats can fill up to 90 percent or more, even when flights are not overbooked. Expect flights to get booked very quickly.
  
  

Overbooking

• Overbooking is a real problem during the holiday season. When flights are overbooked, there's always going to be some people who get turned back from boarding the plane. Paying a little extra for first class can ensure a better seat on the plane, but also guarantees you won't get bumped if the airline overbooks the flight. The best precaution for overbooked flights is to arrive to the airport early, and go to the baggage check-in or security screening area immediately.
  
  

Timing

• The beginning of the holiday season takes off on the first week or so of November. At this time the airports are crowded with cabs, buses and cars. Rental car sales are more expensive during the holiday season, and there are often less cars available. The airports are filled with more people than normal. Some people will be carrying gifts, which may make security check points very busy, and often slows down the process of baggage checking. Security is on a heightened state of alert during the holidays, and this may slow down traffic coming through the airport as well as people getting on to a plane. International flights are going to be longer, with security checks both before getting on a plane, as well as passing through customs once getting off the plane in another country. Holidays don't have to be a complete downer at the airport. Local flights are far less of a hassle than international flights. For example, travelers should arrive at the airport 3 hours early for international flights but only 1 1/2 to 2 hours early before a domestic flight. However, during the holiday seasons, the weather tends to get a bit rough, especially for international flights, which leads to delays.