Whether you're planning a trip to see your family or are looking for a way to avoid them this holiday season, it's time to start planning your travels.

When it comes to booking flights, TravelSense.com, a consumer Web site operated by the American Society of Travel Agents, suggests avoiding peak travel days -- those immediately before and after the actual holidays. Instead, look for flights two days before and after.

For more than airfare, check out Neotravel.com for a variety of current Thanksgiving deals, from $25 per day car rentals and 60% off hotel rates to a Thanksgiving in Paris package including hotel and airfare for $499 per person.

If your idea of a white Christmas is walking on powdery sand, Holland America and Norwegian have 11-day cruises leaving from Manhattan on Dec.

Alaska Airlines Announces Permanent-Fund-Dividend Sale

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alaska Airlines' popular Permanent-Fund-Dividend (PFD) sale is underway, offering significant savings on airfare and complete vacation packages.

The airline's PFD sale includes savings of up to 25 percent for most in- state travel to or from Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau. Alaska Airlines' sale offers additional savings on select routes between many points throughout the state to the Lower 48 states, Canada and Mexico. PFD recipients can also take advantage of 10 percent savings on complete vacation packages from Alaska Airlines Vacations.

Airfare reservations are available now at alaskaair.com and Alaska Airlines' toll-free reservation line at (800) ALASKAAIR or (800) 252-7522. Reservations may also be made through travel agents.

MAS, AirAsia slash prices, foreign airlines join the fray

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia have again entered into another round of fare war by dropping prices by as much as 61% but this time around foreign carriers have joined in the fray.

Malaysian travellers are in for a treat this weekend as the airlines battle it out to attract passengers with the year-end holidays coming up.

MAS revealed its airfares and tour packages yesterday with discounts of up to 61% in conjunction with the three-day Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) fairs held in Kota Kinabalu, Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur.

Among the cheapest airfare on offer by MAS is to regional destinations like Jakarta with a return fare of RM300, Bangkok (RM350), Hong Kong (RM650) and Beijing (RM800).

For its tour packages on Golden Holidays, a four-night-three-day free-and-easy Jakarta package costs RM633 while a similar one to Hong Kong starts from RM1,297.