Question about flying on Christmas day
 

I have never flown on Christmas day. This year is a first. My wife and I are flying on Delta: SFO-CVG-GSP (the 12:00PM flight SFO-CVG)

My questions:

1. I am not sure what to expect....Are the airports jammed because its Christmas? Or are the airports empty because its Christmas? Is SFO Delta terminal a nightmare?

2. I am assuming SFO-CVG will be an easy upgrade if we are both GM...?

I've found the airports to be quite busy on Christmas Day (same with Thanksgiving Day). Not crazy like the days before and after the holiday but people still need to get where they are going.

I will say, on Christmas Day, everybody justs seem to be in a better mood.

...and the FA's all dress like elves :D

MO

Perhaps early in the morning is busier, but I've flown out on Christmas night now for years and always found that the airports are pretty empty. When I was on UA, I can remember the RCC being almost completely empty, and always appreciated hearing CH 9 and ATC and the captains wishing each other Merry Christmas.

On DL, I've found upgrades always cleared at most levels, and there is a good spirit about people.

Christmas day(at least on the US side) in Clt very busy.

Airports are only as busy as the number of flights flying. Airlines cut back on flights Christmas, so it will be less busy, in the terminal. but, the plane will be full so not-so-much there.

I often think we confuse busy with inexperienced. There are not that many extra flights the day before Thanksgiving--if any at all--but it can appear busier because those flying are inexperienced. Lines are slower, it takes longer for agents to explain things etc.

+1

and crowds at the airport are larger because there are more meet and greeters

one advantage of traveling on any holiday is traffic away from the airports tends to be lighter

Bob H

I've always found both the airports and airplanes to be sparse. If flying on Christmas Day, I usually bring the FA's a SBUX card or something as a present.

Mike

Depends where you're flying. We did LGA-FLL on Christmas Day last year and it was an absolute zoo at the gate. Every flight was overbooked and they were offering a mere $400 to go two days later... obviously no takers and they IDBed passengers. No upgrades were given out to anyone, the GA just moved overbooked coach passengers into first. (I know this because the guy next to me offered for me to switch seats with his wife in first class who had been randomly assigned there.) Was not a very pleasant experience.

Christmas Day travel -> "It depends" like others have said.

The airlines pull-down their schedule for a lot of late night Christmas eve and Christmas morning flights in certain destinations, traditional business destinations and small markets.

On the other hand, demand to leisure destinations on Christmas day is typically quite strong.

Christmas morning is typically busier than one might think for two reasons:
1) People who couldn't fly out earlier since they have to work Christmas eve (retail industry)
2) Bargain-hunters, typically much cheaper than the days prior
3) Leisure / vacation trips (e.g. NYC - Florida, Ski markets, etc.)

That said, it usually drops off by midday.

I would think that GM's on SFO-CVG should get upgraded quite easily on Christmas day. The DM road warriors are all comfortably at home opening their presents under the tree, enjoying their time off after a long year of slogging around the world.

My experience has been emptier airports, but more kids/families. Upgrades are usually not a problem. I go out of my way to wish the DL folks a Merry Christmas.

Wife and I flew on Christmas Day a few years ago, flying out of ORD early evening. The airport was more like a tomb than a zoo. No waiting at all in the security line but as others have said, maybe it is a hit-or-miss thing.

4) Those with family in two places. We did Christmas Eve with wife's family in NY and caught a morning flight Christmas day for FL to see my family for Christmas dinner. Besides the hassle at the airport, it worked out nicely.

Last year, all flights at Christmas were a mess because of the weather. Delta was preemptively canceling flights left and right, so the airports got really ugly at times.

Normally, for a 12pm flight on Christmas day, the airport is bound to look about the same as any other day. However, as folks have stated, the amount of flights is actually less than normal, but the travellers tend to be more inexperienced. The nice part is that when you arrive at your destination at night, the airport will be dead. So, you'll be able to grab you bags and get out of the airport quickly.

One winter I flew on the 22nd Dec. to my home for Xmas . Think you'd be safe, right? WRONG. Our Pinnacle flight crew got sick or wasn't available that evening stranding us all in MSP overnight. The next day (23rd) weather hit and flights were cancelled left and right. The 24th flights all booked solid - managed to snag last flight out on XMAS Eve because I threatened a trip in vain.

So be aware that you could be stranded for quite some time due to overbookings/capacity reductions/weather/crew sicks or shortages.

A: Usually speaking at most airports there will be overbooked flights during the holidays.

Also since it is Christmas, TSA Security is likely to be a huge bottleneck as well.

As for upgrades: Above they said Delta moved some overbooked passengers to First Class seats but I would think if you volunteered your seat immediately at the gate, you would have a strong chance of getting a voucher and another flight out with upgraded seating. People will get upgraded whether it be coach to first class or vouchers during the holidays. There just simply is going to be additional customers and oversold seats.

Ive seen quite a few times when flying or at the airport with family during holidays where they could not confirm seating and sold the plane full so they would voluntarily bump someone else. The people I know who pay for tickets like to go on schedule and so they won't be happy if they were unvoluntarily bumped.

Usually the replacement flights were an offering of a few hundred dollars or so and upgraded seating on connection flights to a destination that is served by non stop flights.

The last two afternoons before Thanksgiving I flew out of MKE. I literally was the only one at the TSA checkpoint one hour before the flight last year. Nobody. Not at the ID checker counter and nobody going through the machines. All alone. When I walked away and looked back, there still was nobody.

Only two other people at The Club.

I said most airports. But in fact most of the USA has smaller airports.

It all depends on the route. For JFK or LGA to FLL during December, you will get overbooked. JFK to SFO or LAX as well.

It really depends on the airport pairs. In fact with Flight Aware you can enter those pairs and it will tell you how booked those flights are. It is in beta right now.

I ran it for some routes like JFK or LGA to FLL and it tells you the capacity filled on those routes though it doesn't restrict to holidays but you will get a good idea using flight aware if you will be bumped from those airport pairs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General...tional_Airport

Pax count seems to be low there.

Check flight aware for SFO-CVG-GSP.

If Delta has lost marketshare in a market due to another carrier one also won't get bumped.

So many variables, so I was incorrect when I said most. But for those passengers who are flying a very popular route with an airline, the odds are high.

http://flightaware.com/insight/airline/KSFO/KCVG/DAL

Odds of bumpage or upgrades on SFO to CVG are high. They fly at a 90% load factor so holidays should be very busy on that route.

Some people will get bumped from SFO to other flights with a stopover before CVG.

Most definitely.

What route pair was that from MKE? Check the load factor on flight aware and I bet it is one of the lower ones especially if the airport was so uncrowded.

At the busiest airports in the USA during holidays bumpage odds are extremely high.

SFO to CVG is one of those apparently. Plus Delta has the exclusive non stop.

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Answer - yes 90% load factor on the route so upgrade likely is high. Also since it is SFO expect TSA security delays.

Thanks for the responses vereyone! Very helpful!!

But unfortunately when I went to check my itinerary I can no longer view seats for the SFO-CVG-GSP legs on Dec 25th (its says seat selection is not available)...so I went to make a mock booking for the same flights and this option no longer exists!:( Looks like the canceled the nons-top SFO-CVG...)..but there is no mention of it on my itineraries?:confused:

Back to square one

You might want to wait a few days before booking this -- something about buckets being reset on weekends.

Also, I would look for SFO-ATL-GSP -- the CVG hub is about gone

Bob H

My Christmas flying horror tow years ago was discovering that the SkyClub in Detroit is dry on Christmas Day due to local liquor laws.

Needless to say, this year I'm flying through Amsterdam instead!

I've generally found Christmas Day flying busy but not obnoxiously so, going through various combinations of MSP, DTW, AMS, FRA, TXL, CGN.

strike/extended holiday
 

sorry...wrong thread...! :(

Having flown on Christmas eve, I've been treated to a carol or two over the PA by the gate agent.

I've never flown on the day itself, but I can tell you from experience that there is nothing more depressing than sitting in an empty airport on Thanksgiving night. MSP felt like Bemidji.

That law has been changed - it used to be liquor couldn't be sold before noon on Sundays etc. Now facilities can purchase a special license and many do.

Bob H

Well, I'm flying SLC to ORD the day before Thanksgiving and back to SLC the day after. Should be awesome...

One good thing is that it's almost always a sure upgrade for any Medallion level.

I hope so. Haven't been upgraded for a while. I don't remember my last battlefield upgrade. All my upgrades have been at my 3 day window.
Missed an upgrade today by 1 measly seat.

Yay, Michigan! Looks like it's only dry now between 11:59 pm Christmas Eve and noon on Christmas Day.

I, too, have had good luck with holiday upgrades, even as a silver.

Definitely expect better spirits and a little fun. Most years I travel on Christmas or the day before. Several airports have carol singers or even Santa. My favorite memory was one year connecting in CLT and someone came over the airport PA "paging Marie....(long pause)...Christmas. Paging Marie....Christmas. About half the people in the gate area laughed. The others missed a gem.

This year I am flying LAX-ATL-FCO on the 24th/25th. Hoping to pass Rudolph and the sleigh somewhere around Greenland!

Yes, My wife and I do this each year it seems.

If you are flying on Christmas Eve, I would be sure to send a note to Santa and let him know your flight number and the approximate location of where to find you. :)

A nice thing to do, which I did flying DTW-FLL on Christmas Day 2 years ago, is to give the GAs, FAs & pilots $5 Starbucks gifts cards. They all were really appreciative & it gave me good karma. I chose the gift cards because Starbucks is in most airports & I figured they would be wary of eating any food items (even if they were wrapped/sealed).

I've been flying on Christmas Day for the past decade in order to reach my parents on the opposite side of the country before the day ends. Delta has always made flying on that day a joyful experience, and each year I find the airports more and more crowded. What I've truly noticed is more unaccompanied minors flying to, in my estimation, the home of their other parent.

LOL.

:D

I used to do this a lot.

Watch those flights. This is the ONE time of the year when I have SIGNIFICANT schedule changes. Basically it appears then "consolidate based on bookings"

Have flown EWR-LIS on Christmas Eve and MAD-ATL on Thanksgiving Day.

EWR was a zoo and the flight was full. LIS (since I arrived on Christmas Day) was dead. MAD was regular, since it was just a normal day in Spain that day, although the plane was maybe half-full. ATL was lighter than normal but still busy, although I was able to do the kettle equivalent of SDC for free (!) for an earlier flight to CLT. On the flight to CLT, I was talking to a a couple who were flying back from FCO, and they said that their flight was packed.

So all in all, YMMV. :rolleyes:

PS: I'll let you know how customs and TSA in ATL are on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in a few weeks. Oh, did I mention that I have a 1:25 connection and MCT is 1:30? :eek::td: