In fact, while we’ve been crunching numbers at Skyscanner for a few months now, this November marks the first month where fewer than 10 US cities will see any kind of airfare drop. And two of those are by a paltry one percent. Our data heroes at Skyscanner explained the phenomenon to us, pointing out that, historically, people buy a lot of last-minute Thanksgiving flights in November — and look ahead to Christmas and New Year’s — so nobody’s cutting anybody any deals.
That, however, opens the door for some insane price drops overseas, so you may be best served to start thinking about places that require a passport. Nearly everywhere in Europe will have flights significantly cheaper, led by Copenhagen down 22 percent to $514. Spain will also be within reach with both Barcelona and Madrid seeing flights drop by a fifth to $524 and $562, respectively.
If you want to stretch your savings both literally and figuratively, China’s largest cities will also have far cheaper flights, with Beijing topping the list down 30 percent to $616 and Shanghai right behind it down 28 percent to $654. Here are the top 15 international deals:
1. Beijing, China — $616 (30%)
2. Shanghai, China — $654 (28%)
3. Copenhagen, Denmark — $514 (22%)
4. Barcelona, Spain — $524 (21%)
5. Madrid, Spain — $562 (20%)
6. Rome, Italy — $602 (20%)
7. Athens, Greece — $774 (19%)
8. Istanbul, Turkey — $830 (19%)
9. Milan, Italy — $623 (19%)
10. Amsterdam, Netherlands — $577 (18%)
11. Berlin, Germany — $653 (18%)
12. Paris, France — $536 (17%)
13. Seoul, South Korea — $908 (17%)
14. Lisbon, Portugal — $666 (17%)
15. Bali, Indonesia — $692 (17%)
The best domestic deals won’t be short flights either as Hawaiian destinations top the list, led by Honolulu down seven percent to $601 and Kahului down five percent to $427. Past that, it’s slim pickings with Salt Lake and Nashville rounding out the list. If you’re keen to save the price of a Coke at the airport, Pittsburgh and Ft. Myers will also have flights down a few bucks to $296 and $277 respectively. Here’s that info again in easily digestible list form:
1. Honolulu, Hawaii — $601 (7%)
2. Kahului, Hawaii — $427 (5%)
3. Salt Lake City, Utah — $304 (5%)
4. Nashville, Tennessee — $314 (4%)
5T. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — $296 (1%)
5T. Ft. Myers, Florida — $277 (1%)
Maybe the dearth of domestic deals is a sign from the universe that you should broaden your travel horizons. Perhaps it’s the airfare gods saying, “Hey, enough trips to Miami, maybe you should go check out Milan.” Or maybe it’s just a glut of holiday travelers driving prices up like they always do. Whatever the reason, look at it as an opportunity to at least consider going somewhere different this Thanksgiving — because no matter what, it will be more exciting than grandma’s house. 