KEVIN B. KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat STA travel advisor Annika Balu helps retail and consumer sciences senior Tugce Irtem, left, and philosophy senior Banu Kavusturan decide whether to fly to New York or Chicago.

Students who have yet to book their trips home for the holidays might be out of luck at the STA travel agency, as airline seats are filling up quickly.

Annika Blau, a travel adviser for STA travel agency in the Student Union Memorial Center, said student bookings at STA surge during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season since students are itching to go home to spend time with their families.

But Blau said students who haven't reserved their flights home for Thanksgiving are out of luck since most to all of the flights have already been reserved.

"Forget it. Everything is booked," Blau said. "Thanksgiving is the most traveled date in the U.S."

She said the remaining flights are expensive and have bad arrival and departure times for college students.

Blau said students should reserve their flights well in advance of the holiday season so they don't have to pay outrageous prices or get stuck with inconvenient departure times.

Alanna MacGrath, a journalism and creative writing sophomore, said she booked a flight through STA last year to visit a friend in New York over winter break months before the break so she wouldn't get stuck without a flight or pay an expensive price for her ticket.

"The prices are better here because it's geared towards student budgets," MacGrath said.

She said the airfares were cheaper at STA compared to booking on the Internet and said the STA staff is helpful to students who haven't reserved a flight before.

Talia Nosrati, a communication senior, said booking tickets on the Internet is easier for her than waiting in lines.

Nosrati said she booked her Thanksgiving and winter break flights home to Los Angeles months ago so she wouldn't get stuck with a bad departure time and have to pay "an arm and a leg" for a ticket.

Blau said this is the time of year when the price of airline tickets rises, as the airlines know anxious holiday flyers will pay any price to get home for the holidays.

She said airline ticket prices depend on when and where you travel, but said the numbers for most domestic flights are consistent.

Alain Ballesteros, an industrial engineering senior, said he booked his flights home for the holidays two months ago and said he frequently uses STA to fly his friends here from Mexico.

"They have good deals for students here and it's reasonably inexpensive compared to airline prices on the Internet," Ballesteros said.

Lily Trave, a Pima Community College student, said she usually doesn't travel home or book her own flight home for the holidays, but said STA employees were accommodating and friendly.

Trave said she couldn't compare the prices of other travel agencies because her parents usually book her flights home to Iowa.

Blau said the UA STA location is one of the few situated on a college campus and in a student union.

She said STA is primarily used by students who appreciate the fact the travel agency is in the Student Union, making it convenient for those living on campus and those wanting to book a flight between classes.

Nosrati said the STA travel agency is better for students because they don't have to search for travel services when there's one right on campus.

"The union is a great location for the STA travel agency," she said. "It's pretty hard to miss it since it's located right by the food court."

MacGrath said she finds STA convenient because she can go there between classes to check airline fares.

Trave said walking in to book a flight was easier than looking up travel agencies in the phonebook.

Blau said while more domestic flights are booked during the Thanksgiving holiday season, more international flights are booked during Christmas time because international students want to go home for the monthlong break as well as students wanting to vacation in Europe.

She said more than 10,000 students use the STA travel agency during a school year and said the flights are split 50-50 between domestic and international flights.

STA Travel, the world's largest travel company for students and young people, has over 400 travel offices in 19 different countries, according to the STA Web site.

STA serves as a regular travel agency, which attracts the Tucson community, but Blau said the number of non-student bookings has decreased since the STA location on University Boulevard closed and is now solely open in the Student Union.