Expect full planes, high airfares for holidays
Published 10:09 pm Wednesday, November 9, 2011
LOS ANGELES — Travelers planning to fly for the Thanksgiving holiday face two helpings of bad news: Ticket prices are expected to be 6 percent to 12 percent higher than last year, and empty seats will be even harder to find.
Because airlines have cut thousands of available seats for the holiday, low-fare airline tickets for the busiest days will go quickly, leaving only high-priced seats or fares for flights several days before or after the holiday.
“With the reduced capacity, planes are going to be more full,” said Joe Megibow, vice president and general manager of travel website Expedia.com. “People are going to find that even the middle seats are going to be filled.”
An estimated 23.2 million Americans are expected to fly during the 12-day period before and after Thanksgiving, a 2 percent decline from last year, according to the Air Transport Association. Airline officials attribute the drop to the weak economy and worries among travelers over stubbornly high unemployment rates.
