Cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms are encouraging people to travel over the holidays. On the busiest travel days flights are expected to be filled to at least 85 percent of capacity.
There will be more full flights over the holidays due to many airlines having cut back their capacity to match the drop in demand for tickets and increased cost of operations. Capacity reductions have played a large role in the airline industry becoming profitable again.
Continuing economic concerns, rising energy costs, and falling disposable income are contributing to a slight drop (forecast down about 1 percent) in demand for airline tickets this winter.
The bad weather system currently negatively impacting parts of the West, South, and Midwest have not had a major impact on large airline hubs yet. In the event winter weather causes problems at major hubs, the Federal Aviation Administration may open up Defense Department airspace that it not regularly available to commercial flights on an as needed basis to reduce congestion.
Daily flier levels are forecast to range from 1.6 million to 2.3 million over the holidays. The busiest travel days are anticipated to be between December 21 through December 23, December 26 through December 30 and finally January 2 and 3 as people fly home.
Passengers should check airline websites before they depart for the airport to determine if any delays have occurred, pack gifts unwrapped to reduce the need for security inspection and review carry-on rules for liquids, gels and aerosols.
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