According to some numbers released Wednesday by the industry trade group Airlines for America, air travel is set to reach record highs for the 12 day period around the Thanksgiving holiday.
It has been estimated that 27.3 million people will be flying domestically during this period of November 18 and 29, which would be a 2.5 percent increase from last year. That comes out to about 2.27 million people each day.
The former years that hold the peak numbers were 2006 and 2007. According to John Heimlich, the vice president and chief economist of Airlines for America:
“Airlines are adding capacity to accommodate the increased demand. While more people will be flying, there will be more than an adequate number of seats available.”
Part of the increase in travel this year is attributed to the fact that the market is stronger, and additionally because the plane fares are lower than average. In the second quarter the average domestic airfare was at its lowest price since 2011, at $352 a flight on average.
Within that period of Thanksgiving travel, the Sunday after the holiday is expected to be the busiest day for flying. The least busy day will be the Thursday of Thanksgiving itself.
