Buying airline tickets is kind of like playing the stock market. Would you believe Winter Commencement here at Truman is on Dec 22 and that I won’t get to fly home until Xmas eve? I’ve been tracking ticket prices the past week or so on Orbitz, and fares have been steadily dropping since Monday’s airplane crash. Question is: how long should I wait before buying? When will the prices go back up?

I hated driving 2 and a half hours to Kansas City last year to catch my flight, so I’m looking at flying out of the little Kirksville airport instead. It would cost about $140 more (definitely more than I would spend on gas and long term parking in KC), but it would totally be worth it to have only a 5 minute drive home after I step off the plane coming back.