Nicola Corrigan: Hello, Kimya. That should be a great stay in Barcelona. I am envious! The best period is to try to travel around the 26th/27th and, if possible, return after the 5th January for the best deals. Unfortunately, New Year's an expensive time. International Consolidators or discounters are your best bet for a deal and you may need to fly indirectly....and yes, the longer they wait the higher the fares will go...

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Washington DC: How does one go about finding a decent priced round-trip flight from Europe, specifically England, during the holiday season?

Nicola Corrigan: The UK is a fiercely-competitive flights market with much more brutal flight competition than the US. We have been helping consumers find deals from the UK with http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/flag.html. Your best bet is to shop around and remember that there are low-cost airlines, well-priced big name airline flights, and also charter airlines. It is hard to find prices in one place so you need to do a bit of leg work to find the best deal.

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Detroit Lakes, MN: When is the best time (day) to plan a trip, lowest cost during the week, and how far in advance should one make reservations? Is waiting to the last minute and tring to get in on special deals, ie. last minute.com, hobbit, etc usually good deals? Thank you

Nicola Corrigan: First, let's start with the best day of the week to travel. Assuming it's not a holiday period, Saturday is sensational. That's because weekend trips begin on Fridays, and usually end Sundays. Saturday isn't exactly a dead day for travel, but it can come close.
As for time of day, avoid first flight outs in the morning, and last flights back at the end of the day. They're full of business travelers, folks willing to pay a premium to do there-and-back day trips. That reduces the inventory of discount airfares on those flights.
Companies specializing in last-minute discounts often deal in what the airlines call "distressed inventory," seats that aren't selling for some reason or anothe. You can land some amazing deals this way -- but they may not always be on the routes you want, or out of the airports that are closest to your home.
Best bet: book and buy well ahead. 21 days is optimum. Also, be flexible as to your destination airport - Oakland, for example, instead of San Francisco; or Islip, long Island in lieu of JFK.

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Tupelo, MS: I don't see many good deals leaving our nearest large airport, Memphis, do you have a list of waht may coming up soon?

Nicola Corrigan: Memphis is a classic case of a place dominated by one airline: Northwest. Such dominance almost guarantees a dearth of great deals out of that airport. The only real low-fare competition in Memphis is AirTran. You might consider looking at AirTran's fares for flights that connect via Atlanta. Some good one-stop deals are sure to pop up.
An alternate strategy: drive to Birmingham, Nashville, or Jackson and catch Southwest. Sure, you're going to spend about three hours on the road, but the savings could be worth it. Southwest offers great nonstop service out of Nashville, one of its focus cities. It is also a major player down in Birmingham, and fields significant service from Jackson.
If you're waiting for Northwest to undercut its own fares out of Memphis International, the wait could be lengthy indeed. Airlines don't reduce fares absent competition -- especially when they're trying to emerge from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, as is the case with NWA.

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