Florida holiday travel spikes: Pilots and drivers are expected to surpass the six-year mark
Florida – It appears that holiday travel in the United States is setting yet another record.
Between Saturday and New Year’s Day, over 119 million individuals are expected to travel at least 50 miles from their homes, surpassing the previous holiday-season high set in 2019, according to the auto club AAA. It appears that the two weekends after Christmas are among the busiest travel and airport periods.
During the 19-day period beginning Thursday and ending Monday, January 6, U.S. airlines are expected to carry 54 million passengers, according to the trade group Airlines for America, which also predicts record travel. Compared to previous year, the figure would indicate a 6% increase.
It would probably be too close to the holidays for a government shutdown that might begin as early as Saturday to have an immediate impact on flights and airport operations, but that could alter if the shutdown lasted longer.
The busiest days for airlines are Friday and Sunday, as well as December 26, 27, and 29. There should be little flight traffic on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Thanksgiving Day was by far the slowest day for air travel in the United States this year.
Over the holidays and until January 2, 40 million passengers are anticipated to be screened by the Transportation Security Administration.
According to AAA, 90% of Americans who are taking long-distance trips over the holidays will be driving.
According to AAA representative Aixa Diaz, “the majority of people drive to their destinations, even though airline travel is just really high right now.”
The cost of gasoline is comparable to last year. According to AAA, the national average for gasoline prices on Thursday was $3.05, which is lower than the $3.08 average from a year ago. Although it varies by state, charging an electric vehicle costs somewhat less than 35 cents per kilowatt-hour on average.
Travel times on the country’s highways may be up to 30% longer than usual during the holidays, according to transportation data firm INRIX, with Sunday seeing the most traffic. The business claims that the major cities most likely to see delays include Boston, New York City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
Airports and airlines usually have fewer peak days than they do during the Thanksgiving rush since the holiday travel period lasts for weeks, but flight crews suffer from the monotony of one busy day followed by another. Furthermore, even minor setbacks, like a computer malfunction or a winter storm, can cause significant disruptions.
This is how two million passengers were left stranded by Southwest Airlines in December 2022, while Delta Air Lines experienced a lesser but equally devastating breakdown following a global technological failure in July brought on by a flawed software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
Compared to slower times, cancellations are considerably more inconvenient over the holidays because many flights are sold out. This is particularly true for low-cost carriers with fewer flights and fewer passenger rebooking possibilities. The only major airlines that have “interline agreements” that allow them to transfer stranded passengers to another airline’s flights are American, Delta, and United.
A Transportation Department rule requiring airlines to automatically provide passengers with a cash refund for canceled or significantly delayed flights will go into force for the first time this holiday season. Refunds were already available to the majority of passengers, although they frequently had to ask for them.
During seasons of high travel demand, passengers can still request a rebooking, which is frequently a better alternative than a refund. This is due to the fact that it is typically highly costly to find a last-minute flight on another airline on your own.
“They will cover the fare difference when they rebook you. Sally French, a travel specialist at consumer affairs firm Nerdwallet, stated, “I have to pay the difference if my $200 flight to see my grandmother is canceled and I go back and book a flight four hours later for $400.”
If a flight is canceled, passengers on low-cost airlines—which have fewer flights and no alliances with other carriers—may have to make a tough decision.
“They’ll place you on the next Spirit or Frontier aircraft that departs, but that can take some time. According to French, there are instances when waiting three days for the next flight won’t work for you, and it can be worth the extra money to rebook on a major airline.
A clause in a recent Transportation Department rule that defined a significant delay as three hours for a domestic flight and six hours for an international journey is being exploited by certain airlines. Airlines that previously provided refunds for shorter delays, such as Delta, United, and JetBlue, are now adopting the government norm, according to Brett Snyder, the operator of the Cranky Flyer website.
Baggage loss is more likely on delayed planes. If a passenger loses their luggage, they should notify the airline and inquire about their rights. At the bottom of this page are links to the customer service policies of the major airlines in the United States.
According to U.S. government data, airline tickets increased 4.7% in November over the same month last year. Planning excursions for the upcoming year, including spring breaks and summer vacations, is best done in early 2025.
According to Laura Motta, an editor at travel book publisher Lonely Planet, “January and February are great times to plan for March, April, and May, but you’re not going to find anything that feels very rock-bottom because travel is so popular.” “You should start considering that in January if you want to travel to Paris in the spring.”
