Don't Stress Over Holiday Air Travel

The holiday season is upon us, which means that many people will be traveling to visit relatives or to take a vacation. Packing, crowded airports, cramped seating and long waits can make one of the most stressful times of the year even more so.

If you are going to be traveling this holiday season, use the following tips to plan your trip, save money and make your journey more comfortable.

Booking Airline Tickets

Fly early on a non-stop flight: While the recent Thanksgiving weekend was relatively free of travel delays, there is no guarantee that luck will continue through the season. If at all possible, make your reservations on an early morning flight that is non-stop to your destination. This will make it more likely that the aircraft spent the night at your departing airport, which will reduce the likelihood of delays. A single, major airport with delays can cause a ripple effect throughout the whole airline system, which means that later flights run the risk of a greater chance of delays. While it's impossible to control the weather, making these two moves is your best defense to get to your destination on time without delay.

Get a first class seat for cheap: Most people aren't aware of special airline fares that don't automatically come up when you search for flights online called Y-Up and Q-Up fare tickets. These special codes can help you get you a first class seat for close to economy air prices. While these will not save you money if you are prepared and have made your reservations in advance from low-cost carriers, they can get you a much better seat for nearly the same price if you are buying a ticket with little advance notice. You can search for these hidden fares in this special Y-up search engine.