Airlines see 4 percent rise in Thanksgiving travel
30.09.2007, 08:20
Airlines expect a 4 percent increase in travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period this month, the industry's lead trade group said on Monday.
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The Air Transport Association projected that planes would be close to 90 percent full, on average, over the 12-day period that begins Friday and ends November 27.
The forecast is based on a sampling of advance bookings for the period, which is the industry's busiest travel time of the year.
U.S. airlines have added more flights to accommodate the expected increase in travelers and are taking other steps to help prevent delays, the trade group said.
Many airlines plan to have surplus aircraft parked at airports to help respond quickly to any mechanical or other delay.
To help prevent passengers from being stranded at airports due to bad weather, most airlines are hiring more workers to help passengers and plan to waive fees if a passenger must be re-ticketed for another flight.
The industry is also working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to improve routing and air traffic procedures to minimize flight delays, which have worsened this year, partly due to airline scheduling and overcrowding at big airports, especially in New York City.