It’s only September, and fall hasn’t even begun to chill the foothills, but the winter holiday season is right around the corner.

Now might be the best time to buy those airline tickets to see loved ones.

When it comes to getting the lowest holiday fare or any flight, local travel agents recommend purchasing your ticket in advance.

“I would say for most flights allow a three-to-four-month window on average,” said Shonne Epperly-Elgin, owner of Havalark Travel in Auburn. “But if you book it too far in advance, you might not get their discounts. Thanksgiving is the biggest holiday because everyone celebrates Thanksgiving. Definitely book in advance for any holiday travel.”

Over at Gold Country Travel in Auburn, owner Ken Brown echoes the book-early message.

“Book early before the fares go up any more and use a travel agent to put money into the local economy,” Brown said. “We’re always looking for the lowest fares for our clients. Since we use airline computer equipment, we check for seat availability and have the capability of picking up the last low-fare seats. On the Internet, you can’t do that.”

Over at Renee Travel Agency on Lincoln Way, Julie Shelp points out the expensive side of holiday travel and the advantage of buying your ticket early.

“I would recommend purchasing your ticket three to six months in advance for holiday travel, because the airlines have cut back their service,” Shelp said. “Be flexible because of the service cuts. For instance to Atlanta, Delta used to have three non-stop flights daily from Sacramento. Now, there are only two flights. That’s 200 seats per day that are gone now. That’s just one city and it’s across the board with all airlines.”

For those looking to book a holiday flight, Shelp has some helpful suggestions.

“If you’re trying to fly on Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday, you are going to pay a premium, if you can find seats,” Shelp said. “If you are somewhat flexible and say come back on Tuesday, you are more likely to find space.”

Some say there is a down side to booking early.

“People might get shifted around because of schedule changes, and that’s the downside of booking early,” Brown said. “Hopefully, there won’t be any more cutting of flights and airfares will stabilize.”

So far, local travel agencies have not seen a significant drop in fares after the recent dip in fuel costs. But ticket prices do fluctuate and better deals can be obtained by simply booking your flight to a different nearby airport. For some residents, holiday travel is just out of the question.

“I can’t travel any more, because I have three kids,” said Dan Tebbs, owner of Auburn’s Victory Velo Bike Shop.

Quenby Rubin-Sprague travels to the Bay Area for the holidays, so she doesn’t have to worry about spending on air travel. However, she and her husband are going to Paris soon, despite higher airfares.

“We decided to go to Paris anyway, but we committed to this a year ago,” Rubin-Sprague said.

Epperly-Elgin said there are some advantages of seeing a travel agent. For example, if you’re in the middle of Missouri and your flight suddenly gets rescheduled, that could be a problem.

“If unforeseen circumstances arrive, we do our best to solve the circumstances,” Epperly-Elgin said. “We’ve had people delayed from storms and flight changes.”

When you purchase your airline ticket from a travel agency, most agents will help you book another flight, an option not necessarily available when purchasing tickets online. With no charge, Havalark Travel will help solve travel insurance claims and even arrange transportation to and from hotels after flights.

“Prices can change at any time and air prices are not guaranteed until they’re purchased,” Epperly-Elgin said. “You can always book something online, but to get the most complete information and across-the-board pricing, see a travel agent. We check a lot of resources to get the best price for a client. We offer options for clients in how they want to get there and what they want to do when they get there.”

When it comes to buying tickets online, Shelp, who owned her business for 22 years, points out some disadvantages.

“When you buy online, the airlines are not going to help you out,” Shelp said. “For the most part, we are the same price as online. We can certainly try to route you a better way that is going to save you time. One example is a customer who thought she had a non-stop flight, but in actuality it stopped twice and she had an inner ear problem and when she tried to change it, she had no one to talk to, so she was stuck.”

Surprisingly enough, the cost of purchasing some tickets from a travel agent can be as little as $20, depending on the flight.

Maybe your destination is not that far and you decide to take the train. Rennee Travel Agency and other Auburn agencies do book tickets on Amtrak, but you need to make some considerations before taking the train.

“If you want a sleeper, you are not going to save any money over an airline,” Shelp said. “But if you want to sit up in coach seating, it just depends on where you are going if you save money rather than flying.”

Shelp gives a practical example when it comes to taking the train or the plane.

“You can fly from Sacramento to Seattle for about $83 plus tax each way,” Shelp said. “A one-way fare on Amtrak is $84 one way, for just a seat. It takes from midnight to nine the next night. So for the same amount of money, I would rather take the hour and-a-half flight.”

The Journal’s Bruce Warren can be reached at brucew@goldcountrymedia.com.