25M Travelers Taking to the Skies This Thanksgiving

The forecast for this year’s peak Thanksgiving travel period indicates a slightly higher number of passengers compared to last year.

America’s oldest airline trade association, Airlines for America (A4A), released its forecast for the 2014 Thanksgiving travel period last week. Year-over-year, the number of Americans flying during the 12-day period extending from November 21 to December 2 is expected to increase slightly.

The A4A forecast predicts 24.6 million passengers will fly on U.S. airlines during this year’s busy Thanksgiving travel period. That number is up 1.2 percent from the estimated 24.2 million Thanksgiving air travelers in 2013.

A4A Vice President John Heimlich attributed the projected uptick in passengers to a healthier economy and lower travel costs. “An expanding U.S. economy, rising personal incomes, employment growth and lower energy prices are driving growth in demand,” Heimlich explained in the forecast.

Three of the days covered in the 12-day forecast are projected to be busiest air travel days of 2014 in terms of daily passenger volume. Those dates include Sunday, November 30, which is expected to be the single busiest air travel day of 2014, followed respectively by Monday, December 1, and Wednesday, November 26.

Unsurprisingly, the two slowest air travel days of 2014 in terms of daily passenger volume are also expected to occur during the Thanksgiving travel period, with Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27, and Friday, November 28, predicted to be the lightest travel days of 2014.

According to the forecast, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) will see the largest number of passengers this Thanksgiving, followed respectively by Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and O’Hare International Airport (ORD).

Of course, not everyone will be headed to the in-laws’ house for Thanksgiving this year; A4A projects that roughly 10 percent of those flying during the holiday period will be boarding planes for international destinations.

[Photo: Airlines for America]