We all know Times Square is home to the great “ball drop” on New Year’s Eve — but if you have a taste for something different, you might want to check out these weird and wonderful “drops” (courtesy Reuters, via TripAdvisor).

In Port Clinton, Ohio, you can watch a giant fiberglass fish get dropped; or go to Mt. Olive, North Carolina to watch the descent of a 3-foot tall glowing pickle.

In Elmore, Ohio, an 18-foot sausage will be dropped; in Plymouth, Wisconsin, look out for an enormous hunk of cheese.

And in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a 25-pound “illuminated” Peep will be dropped. You know, a Peep — one of those marshmallow confections that used to crop up only at Easter time but are now a year-round staple.

Read about all these “drops” and more, right here.

And of course, if you decide to travel to any of these festivities, head to FareCompare.com first, for the very best airfare available. There are still plenty of deals out there.

Getting carried away with my alliteration I guess, but I just wanted to grab your attention.

You see, this weekend could be bad weather-wise, and a lot of people will be traveling. Forecasters are talking about snow in the Rockies and Plains states and thunderstorms in the South this weekend, and snow and freezing rain in the Midwest today.

If you’re heading to the airport, have contact information for your airlines with you (yes, you may find that while you’re standing in line the talk to a gate agent, you’ll get through on the phone a little faster). Some more tips here.

And don’t forget — be prepared for possible delays: bring snacks, and amusements (and if your amusements are electronic, make sure all batteries are charged).

Oh, one more thing — pack some patience.

The very best of the season to you!

From all of us at

FareCompare.com

Those of you FareCompare fans who were around last year will no doubt remember “Grumpy Santa” – a member of my staff who hoped to break a record by visiting the 48-contiguous states in 12 days.

Well, Grumpy didn’t break the record — but he did have some uh, interesting adventures — he endured bumpy rides, inhaled delicious cookies, and was serenaded by a stellar stew (okay, a fascinating flight attendant, if you prefer).

Now — he’s baaaaaack!

Southwest Airlines has resurrected video — showing Santa getting stuffed and learning the art of peanut passing. See it now on the Southwest blog.

Regarding the “stuffed” part of the video: Santa (assisted by a Southwest employee) gets padded with numerous airline pillows. Which got me to thinking: had this been on a jetBlue flight — where you pay for pillows — imagine the bill I would have been stuck with!

It’s getting really bad out there, but we do have a couple of “survival tips” to help in case your flight is cancelled or delayed.

GOOD NEWS: Many airlines are offering customers the option of rescheduling their flights over the next few days — flights that go through storm-affected airports — without paying a fee (and some may offer you a refund). That may sound like a no-brainer, but it could save you a good chunk of change.

BAD NEWS: Flights are full, so finding an available seat to switch to, will be tricky.

WHAT TO DO: Contact your airline immediately.

• If you’re already at the airport head for a gate agent — for some reason they can often be more accommodating than the reps at the ticket counters, but head there if you can’t reach anyone at the gate.
• If you have to wait in line at all, get on your phone and call the airline while you wait. It will be first-come, first-served so make sure you’re among those served.
• If a storm makes you late to the airport, and you miss your flight, some airlines (like Alaska) will offer stand-by at no extra charge — but if you know you’re going to be late, call ahead and ask to be put on the stand-by list. The sooner you get on it, the better your chances.
• If you know you’ll be late for your connection, work out an alternative with the gate agent before you fly there. If there’s not enough time for that, again — call the airline.

BOTTOM LINE: Make contact with your airline or airlines as soon as humanly possible.

This morning at 10am, Southwest fired off a brand new “Big Year-End Sale“, with prices beginning at $49 one-way.? Book by Dec. 29^th.? Click here for more details.

But Southwest is not alone — we have seen drops in the cheapest airfare prices by American, Continental, Northwest, United and US Airways, yesterday and today.

If you decided to forgo travel during the holidays — you might want to consider a New Year’s getaway.? But I’d hurry — many of these airfares are limited in quantity and may go quickly.

We all know it’s getting harder to redeem those frequent flier miles, and according to an article in the New York Times, some have found a solution by “spending” their airline and hotel miles on holiday gifts.

What can you get?

Well, over at Delta, you can find anything from magazine subscriptions to digital cameras, or “experiences” like white water rafting or driving a Nascar racer.

Some of these gifts cost a lot of miles (the NY Times cites a pair of tickets to “Saturday Night Live” for 4-million Hilton points), and some analysts say this may not be the most economical use of your miles or points.

But really, YOU are the only one who can say what’s “economical” or not, for yourself anyway.

And if cash is in short supply this holiday season, why not?

Here’s something I never dreamed we’d have to worry about: the government is warning airlines that there could be flight disruptions and/or delays because of a “severe shortage” of potash.

Yes, potash. It’s a form of potassium, and as USA Today reports, it’s a key ingredient in de-icing fluid sprayed on runways (however, there is no shortage of the de-icing fluid used on planes which involves different chemicals).

Blame the shortage on a 3 month long strike by Canadian potash mine workers, which forced companies to halt production of runway de-icing fluid. According to a rep with one such company, last winter they produced 9 million gallons, but this winter it’ll just be 2 or 3 million gallons.

Airports say they will find substitute chemicals — but it’ll cost more, and be less environmentally attractive.

I wonder who will pick up the tab for that?

Airlines have been reporting their latest traffic and passenger revenue stats, and the results are not so hot.

A few examples: traffic at American Airlines fell more than 14% last month; Continental’s traffic was down more than 10%; and Southwest reported a drop of more than 8%.

One analyst called this, “disappointing — but not a disaster”. It does tend to explain all the holiday sales…

NOTE: Tips ahead

A friend of mine in Los Angeles was startled out of her lingering turkey-induced coma Sunday by the sound of two sonic booms — loud enough she said, to shake her house.

Then she realized that was just the sound of the space shuttle returning for a landing at Edward’s AFB just north of LA — normally it would have landed in Florida, but the weather there wasn’t cooperating. And Accuweather says snow in the Midwest and rain and sleet along the Eastern Seaboard could mean some travel delays for other Thanksgiving travelers today.

Not much you can do about weather, but here are a couple of tips that can make a difference:

1. Fly early in the day — weather-related delays only seem to worsen as the day progresses due to scheduling backups — even after storms move on.
2. Look for warm-weather connections in winter — if you have a choice of connecting in Minneapolis or Phoenix, you know your chances of snow delays in Phoenix are, uh, pretty slim.

Sometimes, it pays to be a turkey.

Like, the White House Turkey (actually, it’s turkeys — there are always two of them). After the President pardons them — they get to fly to Disneyland on United — in first class.

In fact, the birds and their entourage will take over the entire first class cabin — we should be so lucky.? So what are the birds going to do in Disneyland? Reporter Terry Maxon speculates that “The turkeys will be on display at Disneyland until, I presume, they pass away of excessive weight.”

Congratulations to United — yes, I suppose some honors are more, uh, dignified than others, but you take what you can get.

Yes, it probably will be a little less congested in the nation’s airports this year - but face it, a crowd is still a crowd - and Thanksgiving is always the busiest air travel time of the year, so it will be mobbed.

And you have to plan accordingly.

I’ve listed five “do’s and don’ts” that will make your airport experience as smooth as possible. And yes, some of these are golden-oldies - you’ve heard them before - but this time, follow the advice. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

Five DO’S and DON’TS for Thanksgiving Airport SURVIVAL

1. DO - Get to the Airport Early. This is especially important if you’re flying out the Friday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving - or the Sunday after.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Arrive 2 hours before domestic flights, and 3 hours before international flights during “peak travel times”: 6am to 9 am, 11am to 2pm, and 7pm to 10pm.

2. DON’T - Drive Yourself to the Airport. It’s not about saving gas, it’s about finding a parking space - don’t waste valuable time looking for one in that huge long-term lot.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Take mass transit, carpool, taxi, or bribe a neighbor to drive you.

3. DO - Bring the Fun Stuff. If you arrive in plenty of time or run into delays, you (and especially the kids) will need a diversion; think movies on laptops, electronic games, and best of all - a good book.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Be sure to charge all batteries completely the night before (and that goes for your cell phone battery, too).

4. DON’T - Break the TSA Rules. You know all this - no liquids or gels larger than 3oz - don’t delay yourself and others by forgetting at such a crucial time.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Use the new “family lanes” at security checkpoints if you’re traveling with your tribe.

5. DO - Set Airline Alerts Before You Leave. Go on your airline’s website and sign up for “alerts” so you’ll be notified of any delays. NOTE: Even if you’ve been notified of a 3 hour delay, get to the airport at the scheduled departure time anyway; if the delay only lasts an hour, that plane will take off - with you or without you. And if there is a long delay, at least you’ll be psychologically prepared for it.

• SURVIVAL TACTIC: Be sure the person picking you up is also signed up for these alerts; no sense having Grandpa waiting around the airport for hours.

President Bush will speak to employees of the Dept. of Transportation tomorrow, and announce new measures to ease air travel during the holidays, along with some consumer protection measures.

You’ll remember last year, the president opened up some of the unused military airspace from Maine to Florida - one benefit of that is it gives airlines more leeway, i.e., more room to maneuver, if they need to skirt bad weather.

I suspect we’ll see something similar this Thanksgiving.

Procrastinators, this is truly your lucky day.

This is a REAL Thanksgiving airfare sale from Southwest - for one thing, there are no…

No Blackout Dates!

And, only a 3-day advance purchase is required.

You must purchase by Nov. 29, and travel anytime from Nov. 22 through Dec. 2, and again, this travel is valid for all the days of the week.

See our post on our deals page for more information and sample airfares.

I got a comment on the blog yesterday from Marilyn - who is rightly upset that I recommended buying holiday airline tickets early this year - she followed that advice, and then watched as prices plummeted in the past 2 weeks.

In hindsight, I have to admit I blew the call - although I did follow my own advice, and bought my Thanksgiving tickets back in June, firm in my belief it was the right call. And back then, it was the right call - but things changed - did they ever!

I don’t think anyone anticipated all the late summer/fall drama on the economic front. But let me go back, and review for you what led me to my “buy now” recommendation:

• Attempted airfare hikes: There were 21 attempted airfare hikes - almost one a week in the first half of the year - corresponding to the run-up in fuel prices to nearly $150 a barrel. And remember, major financial institutions were predicting $200 a barrel oil by the end of the year. At that point I expect to see at least 5-8 more airfare hikes before the end of the year
• Seat cutbacks: airlines announced massive seat cutbacks for holiday travel - cuts of 200,000 seats daily which are now in place. Full Planes = Higher Airfares
• Airline losses: airlines had lost billions of dollars and were very unlikely to be in the holiday spirit this year as they struggled, not so much for profits - they struggled to survive
• Checked bag fees: fees for bags (and other services) - which were not all completely in force at the time - would have tacked on as much as $130 roundtrip to a ticket

I wish I had known that oil was going to drop in 4 months from $150 to $60 a barrel - and not increase to $200 as energy experts predicted. Although that in itself wasn’t going to drive down prices as the cutbacks in seats were already in place.

I wish had known that there would be an epic global meltdown sending us into financial crisis that may take years to climb out of - a crisis that no one seemed to anticipate (and if they did, they sure didn’t raise the alarm). This caused millions of potential travelers to re-evaluate - and forget about flying.

Believe me, had I known about the financial crisis, I sure would have taken steps on behalf of my 401K - which I guess today should be more properly referred to as a 201K.

So what can Marilyn do now?

• Rebook to the New Lower Price for Free: Some airlines don’t charge a fee to rebook for the same flight at a new lower price, up to the date of departure - these airlines include Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest and United
• Rebook to the New Lower Price at Discount: As long as you are staying on the same flight most other airlines have a lower “rebooking same flight fee” rather than the normal (and steep) $150 domestic change fee (change = different flights); these airlines include AirTran - $15; Northwest - $50; Delta - $100; Midwest up to $100; and Hawaiian (note that the fee is $150 on American and US Airways for any changes).
• Rebook for the $150 Change Fee if Savings are Greater — If the price has dropped more than $150, for the same days or even other days, Marilyn should change her ticket and pocket the difference in a voucher - almost all non-refundable domestic tickets now have a $150 change fee (up from $100 in the past year); note that Southwest doesn’t have any change fees - while Virgin America charges just $75 and JetBlue charges $100

We spend countless hours each month working on technology to help people make better buying decisions and we will continue to do so and make recommendations that we feel are in the best interest of every air traveler.

In the new generation of flying, procrastinators will generally not be rewarded - outside of unforeseen external events.

Marilyn, I apologize for being off on my call, but I promise to work even harder for you and your fellow air travelers to make sure they make the best purchasing decisions year in and year out - with a combination of both technology and educational information - on FareCompare.com.

“Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go …”

Well that sounds good in concept, but if Grandma lives 2,000 miles away, chances are some of you weren’t planning on going there this holiday season - and maybe other weren’t planning on bringing the kid home from college for the all-too-brief Thanksgiving break.

Well, I say: Families Unite! And some of you will be able to, thanks to great holiday airfare sales.

But hurry - as noted elsewhere on this blog, in some cases you only have a small window of opportunity - for the big Southwest sale, for example, you only have til the end of this Thursday to book your tickets.

Want to know more about the reasons behind all these last minute airfare sales? Well, for one thing, the airlines weren’t sure they’d be able to fill their planes. Check out the entire column here for more details.

Update: Delta Jumped in Yesterday (while some others sales are expiring, but I look for them torevive them with shorter advance purchase)

I bought my Thanksgiving tickets back in June, because I expected oil to be at $200 a barrel by now - the possibility of cheap flights for the holidays never crossed my mind.

And believe me, I never would have believed cross-counry flights for about $100 one-way would be available as late as Nov. 11^th!

Things got off to a rousing start this morning, with Southwest’s 3-day winter sale - and take a look at these other holiday sales:

• American Airlines Holiday Sales
• Northwest Airlines Holiday Sales
• United’s Domestic and United’s International Holiday Sale

I did some analysis of Southwest’s winter sale, and saw extensive matching by legacy airlines, including the following:

• American, Dallas/Ft. Worth - matched on 57 routes
• Continental, Houston - matched on 56 routes
• United, Denver - matched on 42 routes

Earlier this year, I heard about some travelers who’d started doing the math - on flying vs. driving. If they (or you) opted to hit the road - take another look at the airfares. You may be in for a terrific surprise.

Thought you couldn’t travel during the holidays? You might want to think again.

In the past 24 hours, FareCompare.com’s proprietary airfare tracking system (which processes tens of thousands of airfares daily from over 500 airlines) noted the largest domestic airfare sale activity - at any time in the past year.

While most of the ticket pricing activity this year has been on the increase side, recently we’ve seen a spate of targeted airfare sales launched early in the week and expiring on Fridays - BUT - this new activity - again, over the past 24-hours - has been 10-fold compared to that recent weekly sale activity.

And the best part is, most of this NEW sale activity is targeted specifically at HOLIDAY travelers.

This is great news for consumers, many of whom have given up on holiday travel this year.

Keep reading - I name specific airlines, and specific amounts you can save…

Smart travelers know that the crowded holiday travel season is the best time to pack a carry-on bag - you get in and out of the airport more quickly, and you avoid those dreaded checked-bag fees.

But we’ve all seen folks try to stuff a 60-inch bag in a 40-inch overhead bin - and we’ve watched as these people delay and delay the boarding process, but guess what?

The baggage police are back.

According to the Denver Post, they’ll be cracking down again - size-wise. If your carry-on is too big, chances are you will be called on it, and made to check it.

Avoid such delays. And it’s easy with my up-to-date Airline Carry-on Baggage Chart. And you should check it every time you fly - because sizes change.

Continental, for example, had allowed its passengers a 51-linear inch bag (linear inch = length + width + height), but as of November 1, they’ve reduced the size to the more standard 45-linear inches.

What happens if your bag is too big? According to the Post story, if you manage to get your bag to the plane and crew members decide it has to be checked, you probably won’t have to pay (the system really isn’t set up to take your money at that point) - but, warning: in the past, airlines have set up baggage police lines before you get to security, and they will make you pay.

And understandably so - baggage fees make the airlines hundreds of millions of dollars a year. If you do have to check a bag, here’s a new way to avoid the fee if you fly Continental.

“Oil is down, so ticket prices are lower, right? Oh, wait…”
– Rick Seaney, FareCompare.com

That’s how I begin this week’s column for ABCNews.com - but there is some good news, and let me give you the highlights here:

U.S. airlines are doing better, but unlike their international counterparts, they are being very slow to lower or drop fuel surcharges, which isn’t helping them on the PR front.

Add to the mix, the fact that the lucrative business travel sector is softening, and - you have the right mix for a possible airfare sale.

Note I said, “possible”. But all it takes is one U.S. airline - and the others will generally follow. See the entire column here - and tell me what you think.

As I’ve said before, Thanksgiving and the December holidays are going to be expensive. Very expensive. My best advice? Get your tickets now — I know there are some signs of softening in demand due to the financial downturn and if you want to roll the dice on last minute deals — it may happen, but I am not confident of it.

Which got me to thinking: Halloween is on a Friday this year. The last day in October, of course - and October and early November are the last relatively cheap times of the year to fly*.

So, if you want a holiday getaway, why not make a long weekend of Halloween? See if you can take-off on Wednesday - generally, the cheapest day to fly. Or look for weekend deals - many of the legacy carriers feature some every week.

Remember, these days, Halloween is just as much a “grown-up” holiday as a kids’ celebration - so grab a costume and go!

*Don’t worry, there will be some deals in November and December - and the best way to find them is by using - what else — FareCompare.com.

Here are some great tips for the holidays, and just in time (see tip #1). These are tips that will save you money - not a lot of money - after all, it’s holiday time, and the airlines are both cutting seats and charging peak travel holiday prices.

But you will save some money, and you’ll save time and worries. And that’s not such a bad deal, right?

Top Ten Holiday Airfare & Travel Tips - For Saving Money, Time And Trouble

• Buy Your Airfare Now. This will ensure you get the cheapest possible price - and that you will get a seat. The airlines are flying 180,000 fewer seats each day by the end of the year and 70 million less in 2009. Such capacity cuts only give the airlines more pricing power. Ticket prices will not be dropping as the planes fill up

• Fly These Days: The weekend before Christmas is typically the most expensive (starting with Friday). Fly on the Tuesday before Christmas or the day of Christmas for better deals.

There are 8 more great tips to go, so keep reading!

I know it sounds crazy, but in my latest ABCNews.com column, I suggest gathering the clan for the big family celebration NOT on the fourth Thursday in November - but sometime in October. And here’s why:

• Expensive: late November airfare can be the highest of the year
• Fewer seats: the big capacity cuts will kick in this fall
• Airfare sales: October is slow for the airlines; there will be bargains

Too much of a traditionalist? Have to have Turkey Day on Thanksgiving? I’ve got some tips for you, too:

• Gather at the cheapest destination: whose house is closest to a big hub?
• Fly the cheapest days: travel the weekend before Thanksgiving, or travel on the big day itself;and don’t leave on Sunday - how about Monday or Tuesday?

All the details are in the column - including thoughts on, who gets the drumsticks?