No matter where you are traveling this summer, now is the time to buy. Week after week this year, we've seen new airfare hike attempts in noncompetitive markets. Some of these have failed, but we expect them to continue as we head toward the summer season.

Typically, when we see fare increases, they are in a set dollar amount, commonly $10 or $20, but recently they increased 3 to 5 percent. As a result, many coast-to-coast fares went up $25 to $50.

Fares on routes served by low-cost carriers also have gone up, such as a recent increase of $10 for summer travel on Southwest.

Legacy carriers in noncompetitive markets have increased prices by $190 on some routes this year.

AirTran, JetBlue and Southwest have been the only ones who have been initiating sales this year, but these sales will stop once summer approaches. Inventory will be very limited at lower prices.

You'll have to do a lot more research when it comes to booking airfares for the summer, because the price spreads on fares and change fees are growing further apart. If you pick an airline that has a lot of restrictions, you may end up paying more if you need to change your ticket or check extra luggage.

While all this talk may make you glum, we believe there will be pockets of deals. If you can be really flexible, last-minute vacations will offer the best value. These are available when there is excess inventory, so the destinations will depend on that.

If you are set on a certain destination and date, look at vacation packages, which can offer lower prices than purchasing airfare and hotel or airfare and car separately. If you can wait to travel after mid-August, when school starts in many locations, we should start seeing some relief in airfares.

One final note: You should add 30 minutes to the required flight check-in time, so you don't get left behind. Flights are expected to be full this summer, so if you have to go standby, you could be at the airport for days.

If you are running late, and your airport offers valet service, you should pay for it. It is worth paying extra money per day instead of spending your summer vacation at the airport waiting to fly standby.

Tom Parsons is publisher of Bestfares.com.