The Cheapest Time To Buy A Holiday Plane Ticket

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Already purchase your airline tickets to get out of town for Christmas?

Orbitz reports tickets prices are up about 2-percent this year.

Also, there is new data from the Airlines Reporting Corporation that states you'll have to buy much further in advance than 21-days to get a super cheap ticket.

Click here to watch Brian Andrews' report.

"We're finding lower prices tickets are selling out sooner," says ARC's Chuck Thackston.

ARC looked at more than 130 million airline tickets sold over the last decade, and the prices that were paid for them, and found the lowest average ticket price was paid about 8 weeks prior to departure.

"If you're flying internationally, the best price was found about 24 weeks in advance of travel," said Thackston.

ARC's research also finds there is a better day to find the cheaper fares than a typical Tuesday.

"The lowest average ticket price has actually been on Sunday, with Saturday as the second day of the week," said Thackston.  "Most airlines today are fairly aggressive in providing deals and managing their inventory so anytime you can find a good deal is a best time to buy."

ARC says you can expect to find the airlines still have a few routes with discounted fares for the holidays, but with travel demand up, you can expect those cheaper seats to sell out fast.

Because South Florida is a multi-airport destination, where you can shop FLL, MIA and PBI, ARC reported you could find cheaper tickets to your favorite destination than other major cities served by just one airport.

"During the holiday periods there is typically less business travel so there could be leisure travel and the opportunity to get those deals is still out there, said Thackston.

If you were able to buy early, when was the cheapest day to buy your holiday tickets?

Orbitz reported it was October 10th for Thanksgiving and October 8th for Christmas.

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