Airfare Expert: The two days you should never, ever fly

There are two days of the year one should never, ever fly. Hint: Many of you are going to fly them anyway. Maybe I can dissuade a few.

Both no-fly days are in November and both are around Thanksgiving:

• Wednesday before Thanksgiving (Nov. 26)

• Sunday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 30)

Don't fly these dates because airfare-wise, they are the most expensive days of the year to fly. They also happen to be the year's most popular travel days and that's no coincidence; when people really want to travel, the airlines can and do charge what they want (at least until passengers cry "Uncle!" in the form of declining bookings).

What you could pay, what you could save

If you fly at Thanksgiving but avoid the traditional Wednesday-Sunday itinerary, savings can average from 30% to 50%.

See what I mean with these Houston-New York tickets on United (priced late last week).

• Thanksgiving: Wed. to Sun. - $550

• Thanksgiving: Tues. to Sat. - $354

Notice the cheaper price is available simply by moving travel dates back a single day each way, for a savings of about $200. If you must fly one of the pricey days you'll still save something, just not as much.

Reminder: Thanksgiving won't be cheap no matter when you fly. The non-holiday mid-October price of the Houston-New York flight is just $273, so any savings at Thanksgiving a bonus. It's up to you to be flexible enough to take advantage of it.