I’ve Heard of Overbooking But This is Ridiculous
What has happened to air travel and what will the holidays look like?
It’s been an experience flying this past summer for many of us. The last time I flew, I made it a point to publicly thank the flight crew and flight attendant for being at their jobs that day. And it was a direct flight. It took off on-time and landed as scheduled….yay!
Many of us had the bummer experienced of all day delays or last minute cancellations. We may have incurred extra expenses as a result. And this is just for domestic flights. Some of us even had a front row seat when “Karen” showed up to create a disturbance that made the whole experience even more entertaining. Not since watching Thanksgiving traveler Neal Page (Steve Martin) at the Marathon Car Rental counter have we had so much fun s/o.
We have an acquaintance who travelled overseas and got stuck in Budapest. Another tested positive for a virus variant and couldn’t get on the plane at Heathrow. They were forced to quarantine for two weeks in London in hotel rooms at $400 per night. Ouch!
I get it that some travel disruption is weather or virus related. And some of it is due to pilot or crew shortages. However the airlines didn’t go out of their way to tell travelers the odds of them getting stranded because it was in their economic interest to do so. Thankfully for the holiday season this is changing and there are new regulation proposed to provide greater transparency from the airlines.
According to transportation.gov, 24% of domestic flights were delayed causing chaos. From January thru May 2022, over 88,000 flights were cancelled. On percentage basis, that does not appear to be allot unless it was your flight that got scrubbed. Okay enough of that.
After two years of depressed holiday season travel due to the covid-19 pandemic, Americans are gearing up for a season of Thanksgiving and Christmas travel again. More than half of Americans plan to travel for one or both of the holidays this year, with 70% of travelers planning to visit friends and family according to media.hopper.com
So what should we be looking at with regard to planning holiday travel?
Here are some tips to help us plan without going crazy-er.
- According to media.hopper, the average cost of a round trip domestic plane ticket for Thanksgiving will be $350 and $463 for Christmas. And this may be before additional charges such as taxes, seat selection fees, and checked baggage cost.
- The average hotel night (before taxes and fees) are $198 and $218 respectively.
- Rental car prices have escalated and I think media.hopper’s daily rate projection might be low at $60 and $53 respectively. Our last car rental at Chicago O’Hare was significantly more than this albeit that we rented a bigger SUV.
How far in advance to book? According to thevacactioner.com
- Thanksgiving (book before Halloween)
You should aim to be booked by Halloween at the latest. While it is possible to get a decent deal after Halloween, your chances dramatically decrease. Your odds of finding a desirable flight time also go down when booking after Halloween.
- Christmas (book before Thanksgiving)
At the latest, you should book by Thanksgiving, but the earlier the better. If it is December and you still haven’t booked a flight, you should expect to pay a premium. Also, you will likely only have undesirable flight times to choose from with the potential for the worst connections.
What are the best days to travel or return?
Thevacationer estimates that nearly 11% of American adults intend to fly for Thanksgiving. This means tens of millions of people will be competing for seats on a limited number of flights. For Christmas the number is closer to 13% of American adults planning to travel. Below are the best and worst days to travel. Since Christmas falls on a different day every year, the best days to fly will change.
Thanksgiving
BEST DEPARTURE DATES BEST RETURN DATES
Monday, November 21 Friday, November 25 (Black Friday)
Tuesday, November 22 Monday, November 28
Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) Tuesday, November 29
WORST DEPARTURE DATES WORST RETURN DATES
Wednesday, November 23 Sunday, November 27
Christmas
BEST DEPARTURE DATES BEST RETURN DATES
Sunday, December 18 Wednesday, December 28
Monday, December 19 Thursday, December 29
Tuesday, December 20 Friday, December 30
Christmas Eve or Christmas Day
WORST DEPARTURE DATES WORST RETURN DATES
Thursday, December 22 Monday, December 26
Friday, December 23 Tuesday, December 27
The earlier you depart during Christmas week the better. Many Americans will look to get a few days of work in early during the week before flying out. If possible fly out on Monday December 19 or Tuesday December 20.
Flying on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day is ideal for cheaper prices and fewer crowds too, but you may not want to travel on a holiday.
Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, so many people will fly home the day after. Monday December 26 and Tuesday December 27 will be popular travel days. If possible, wait until later in the week.
The two days before Christmas Eve, the 22nd and 23rd, are going to be busy travel days. Try to avoid them and depart earlier in the week if possible.
Morning flights are better
You can’t control whether a flight will be canceled or delayed, but there are things you can do to better your odds of a smooth travel experience.
If you must fly, go early. The first flight is the one that is most likely to leave on time. Other disruptions like weather or mechanical problems tend to occur later in the day.
Go nonstop whenever possible as your odds of experiencing a delay or cancellation increases with each connection.
Skip checking luggage
No checked bags means no lost bags. Lines can be long at some airports to check bags which can
add to travel stress. So carry on if you can.
Things may have improved marginally, but the holiday season is still super busy. You may want to carry on your presents to avoid any Christmas-morning disappointment.
Plan wisely. Starting in November 2022, vaccinated foreign travelers will be allowed to fly into the
USA again. This will likely add significantly to big city airport congestion.
Thank you for flying with us. We hope your journey has been a pleasant one and that we will see you again soon on another _____________________ flight.
Safe Travels…!
