While it might be too late, at this stage, to find an affordable Labubu to put under the tree, at least holiday airfares have softened.
According to the folks at Dollar Flight Club, median domestic airfares in 2025 are down 19% from what we saw in 2022, 2023, and 2024, with the average for international fares dipping 9%. (These figures are based on research they did of 250 high-volume holiday routes.)
On some routes, the savings were even greater, including for Thanksgiving:
• Fort Myers (RSW) → Frankfurt (FRA) — $603 RT (~29.7% lower compared to 2024)
• New York (LGA/JFK → Miami/Fort Lauderdale — $98 RT (31% lower)
• Salt Lake City (SLC) → Honolulu (HNL) — $362 RT (~34.2% lower)
• Albuquerque (ABQ) → Paris (CDG) — $563 RT (~33.7% lower)
• Baltimore (BWI) → Nassau (NAS) — $368 RT (~33.1% lower)
• New York City (JFK) → Port of Spain (POS) — $369 RT (~32.9% lower)
• Boston / New York City → San Juan (SJU) —$145 RT (~ 25% lower)
• Houston / Dallas–Fort Worth → Mexico City — $178 RT (~28% lower)
For Christmas / New Years, here are a few of the deals Dollar Flight Club is reporting:
• Denver (DEN) → Cancún (CUN) — $275 RT (~50% lower)
• Portland (PDX) → Orange County (SNA) — $175 RT (~50% lower)
• Miami (MIA) → Bologna (BLQ) — $505 RT (~49.5% lower)
• Orlando (MCO) → Nassau (NAS) — $281 RT (~48.9% lower)
• New York City → Orlando (MCO) / Sanford (SFB) — $38–$120 (~40% lower)
Dollar Flight Club suggests different reasons for the drop in prices. On some routes, the decline has to do with increased capacity that isn’t getting filled, while on others, the nice pricing has to do with head-to-head competition between carriers.
I’d add that the uptick of bad news surrounding the U.S. federal government shutdown, and the resulting delays and cancellations that are happening as air traffic controllers call out of their shifts, may also play a role in discouraging travel, which leaves more seats unsold.
Dollar Flight Club is a membership organization that alerts subscribers of especially good airfare deals, some of which, it says, are deals that only members see.
But you don’t necessarily have to book with it to save. Dollar Flight Club’s discovery of falling holiday airfare may be news to many travelers, but the discovery also means that airfares bought through other sources should also be lower—which brings an early Christmas for money-saving travelers.
