by Donald Wood
Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Fri November 6, 2015
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
A recent trade group report suggests that Thanksgiving travel in the United States will be the busiest for airlines it has been since 2008.
According to Jeffrey Dastin of Reuters.com, Washington-based trade group Airlines for America announced Thursday that it predicts 25.3 million passengers will fly worldwide from Nov. 20, through Dec. 1, which would be up three percent from 2014.
That would be the highest number of passengers since the Great Recession in 2008.
In order to match the expected demand, the trade group claims that airlines will start adding flight capacity. In addition, Airlines for America also stated that the 10 publicly traded airlines in the United States earned $17.9 billion collectively through the first nine months of 2015.
The group also reported the airlines saw a 36 percent decline in fuel costs, which more than offset flat operating revenues. Airlines for America chief economist John Heimlich told Dastin, "As competition continues to boost schedules and drive down airfares in 2015, customers are seeing more opportunities to fly during the holiday season."
FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney told ABCNews.com, "I think there's also pent-up demand for people during the holidays that haven't gone the last few holidays, a few grandmothers out there wanting folks to come visit them for the holidays. I'm not surprised we had demand. Over the last three or four years, about 15 to 20 percent of flights during the Thanksgiving travel weekend have been delayed or canceled. So be prepared for those potential eventualities!"
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
