15.6 Million People Plan to Travel Over Labor Day Weekend This Year
Excited to head out of town this Labor Day? You aren't the only one. Trade organization Airlines for America (A4A) is predicting that 15.6 million passengers plan to fly over the three-day weekend. That's up four percent from last year.
Over the seven-day period from Wednesday, August 31 through Tuesday, September 6, 2.23 million travelers will take to the skies per day, approximately 82,000 per day more than last year.
The reason behind the uptick? Falling ticket prices. Consumers are taking advantage of deals to squeeze in one last summer vacation.
"On the heels of this summer's record volumes and falling ticket prices, A4A anticipates a commensurate increase in the number of flyers for the Labor Day period," said John Heimlich, A4A vice president and chief economist in a statement.
"U.S. airlines are well positioned to meet the growing demand for air travel and are responding by increasing the number of seats available by four percent."
Airlines are preparing for the masses, and you should to. If you do plan to fly over the long weekend, and especially if you have flights planned for Thursday and Friday (the busiest days) listen up:
Get to the airport early.
I cannot stress this enough. This is not the weekend to cut it close. Security lines have been exceeding long this summer, and you don't want to be that person, asking if you can cut in line because your flight boards is 10 minutes.
If you don't have TSA Precheck or Global Entry by now, it's probably too late to procure a membership by Labor Day. But start thinking ahead to the winter holidays-you're going to want it, so why not apply now?
