HILLSBORO, IL, October 13 — KAYAK’s 2026 Holiday Travel Check-In, released by The Journal-News, provides data-driven guidance for booking holiday travel between November 20, 2026, and January 6, 2027, based on search trends from comparable periods in 2025 and 2026. The analysis shows that splitting round-trip itineraries into two one-way tickets can yield savings of up to 30% on international flights and 29% on domestic flights, offering a concrete tactic for cost-conscious travelers during peak season.
These figures represent average potential savings derived from historical fare patterns observed in the data set. Internationally, the highest savings from this strategy appear on routes to Simpson Bay, St. Maarten (30%), followed by Liberia, Costa Rica (23%), and Lima, Peru (20%).
Domestically, the most significant reductions are seen for Washington, D.C. (29%), Chicago (28%), and San Diego (22%). The methodology compares search behavior for the 2026–2027 holiday season to the same window in the prior year, isolating shifts in pricing and demand. All cited flight prices are averages for round-trip, economy tickets, while hotel rates reflect average nightly costs, ensuring consistency in the benchmarking approach.
For Thanksgiving travel, fares typically reach their lowest point about five weeks before the holiday, meaning booking before the end of October generally secures the best prices. Flying on Thanksgiving Day itself can save up to 19% domestically and 49% internationally compared to departing on November 20, which the data identifies as the most expensive day to fly during that period.
Christmas travelers can achieve savings by choosing flights during the week of Christmas rather than the week before, with potential reductions of up to 18% domestically and 34% internationally, based on historical fare dips occurring between four and seven weeks prior to departure — roughly mid-November to early December. The data also indicates that long-haul routes to Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean currently show lower average fares than in the previous year, suggesting broader softening in demand or increased competition on those corridors.
KAYAK produced the study, which was reviewed and distributed by Stacker, a data journalism partner known for syndicating research-based content. The Journal-News, located at 431 S. Main St., Hillsboro, IL 62049, reported the findings and can be contacted at 1-217-532-3933 for verification or follow-up.
Founded in January 2004 by Steve Hafner and Paul M. English, KAYAK began as Travel Search Company, Inc. before rebranding to Kayak Software Corporation in August of that year.
The website launched in February 2005 and went public via NASDAQ in July 2012 under the ticker KYAK, opening at $26 per share and closing at $33.18 on its first day. In May 2013, Booking Holdings — then operating as Priceline.com — acquired KAYAK for $2.1 billion, integrating it into a portfolio that now includes brands such as momondo and Cheapflights, which were added after Booking’s 2017 purchase of Momondo Group.
Since the acquisition, KAYAK has expanded its technological capabilities, launching a voice search skill for Amazon Alexa in 2016 and introducing AI-powered tools in 2024, including price checking and recommendation systems. In April 2025, the company released Kayak AI as a beta feature offering real-time travel information through a chat-based interface, later integrating AI Mode into its main platform in October 2026 to enable conversational search and booking.
These innovations align with KAYAK’s broader mission to streamline travel planning across its 20-language, 30-country footprint, which includes major markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, China, France, Germany, and Japan. Travelers seeking to optimize holiday spending can use these tools to identify optimal booking windows and fare structures as outlined in the 2026 Holiday Travel Check-In.
