Holiday flights are getting pricey. So when is the best time to buy plane tickets?

If you're planning on flying for the holidays, prepare to dig a little deeper into your wallet.

Round trip domestic flights around Thanksgiving are averaging $402, up $95 from last year, according to Hopper. It doesn't get much better for Christmas with domestic round trip flights at $452, a jump of $85. That would make it a 10-year high for holiday airfare prices.

Given that stark estimation, when is the best time to book holiday travel? 

Let's start though with why prices are so high with help from Kyle Potter, editor of Thrifty Traveler.

"The elephant in the room is jet fuel, and that is a big piece of this," he said.

Rising jet fuel prices have persisted ever since the Iran War started. A barrel of jet fuel averages $99 in February, according to the International Air Transport Association. By mid-September, it had risen to $195 dollars per barrel. "That has given airlines license and wiggle room to do what they always want to do, which is charge everybody more fares," said Potter.

You might think if plane tickets are so expensive then maybe people won't fly as much this year. But nope, demand remains high. 

"And when travel demand is high and the costs of running their airlines is also high, that just pushes everything up higher," said Potter.

In order to save money, Potter said you need to be strategic when booking. First and foremost, book early.

"Now is absolutely the time to at the very least start looking at it," he said.

Mid-October is considered the deadline to book holiday travel, especially for Thanksgiving. Any later and you risk only seeing prices climb.

"If you can be a little bit more flexible with the days you actually get on the plane, especially around Thanksgiving, that can save you…hundreds of dollars per ticket," said Potter.

The cheapest days to travel around Thanksgiving are the Monday and Tuesday before the holiday, as well as the Friday and Saturday afterwards.

The two most expensive days to travel around Thanksgiving are the Wednesday before the holiday and the Sunday after it.

"Just avoid flying on that Sunday like the plague," said Potter. "It is going to be probably the single busiest travel day in the United States of America in 2026, and it's probably going to be the single most expensive day of air travel in the U.S. period."

Christmas falls on a Friday this year. The most expensive days to travel around it would be the weekend prior and the Sunday after.

The price hikes this year are unavoidable. But flexibility on travel days and booking early can soften the sting.

If you need to get to your destination on time, experts suggest booking the earliest flight of the day.

The likelihood of a delay increases as the day goes on, especially after 7 p.m.