- More than 20 million passengers to fly from the U.S. in the week leading up to Christmas
- Over half a million passengers set to travel on top ten domestic routes in the week leading up to Christmas, with American Airlines operating the most domestic flights
- Services between San Francisco and Los Angeles set to be most popular among holiday travelers
December 10 2019: The festive travel period in the U.S. is set to be busier than ever according to new data from travel data and analytics expert Cirium.
Over 20 million passengers are set to take to the skies on domestic and international flights departing the U.S. in the week leading up to Christmas, as millions of people fly for the holidays.
According to Cirium data, over 113,000 flights will take off to and from the top ten busiest airports in the U.S. between December 16 and 22, carrying up to 14 million passengers.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) will see the most footfall over the festive season, with as many as 2.1 million passengers set to travel on over 16,000 scheduled inbound and outbound flights.
This is closely followed by Los Angeles International (LAX) with more than 12,000 scheduled flights, carrying up to 1.8 million passengers, while Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) is the third busiest airport with more than 17,000 scheduled flights, carrying up to 1.6 million passengers.
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), New York (JFK), San Francisco (SFO), Orlando (MCO), Charlotte-Douglas (CLT) and Seattle (SEA) complete the list of the top ten busiest hubs respectively.
Cirium data also reveals the top ten busiest domestic routes between December 16 and 22, which account for more than 4,000 flights in total – carrying more than half a million passengers.
The most popular domestic route among holiday travelers is between San Francisco (SFO) and Los Angeles (LAX), with a total of 570 scheduled flights, carrying as many as 75,000 passengers, connecting the West Coast cities.
Transcontinental services between New York (JFK) and Los Angeles (LAX) are second most popular, with a total of 515 scheduled flights connecting as many as 74,000 passengers; while flights between Atlanta (ATL) and Orlando (MCO) are third most popular, with a total of 363 scheduled services, carrying up to 61,000 passengers.
The remaining top ten routes include; Los Angeles (LAX)–Las Vegas (LAS), Chicago (ORD)–New York (LGA), Chicago (ORD)–Los Angeles (LAX), Atlanta (ATL)- Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Atlanta (ATL)–New York (LGA), Honolulu (HNL)–Kahului (OGG) and Seattle (SEA)–Los Angeles (LAX).
The busiest airline for flights within the U.S. is flag carrier American Airlines, which will operate 41,000 flights during this period, carrying as many as 3.9 million passengers, to meet increased seasonal demand.
Close behind is Delta Air Lines, which will operate 35,000 flights, carrying up to 3.7 million passengers, while Southwest Airlines is the third most popular carrier with 26,500 flights, carrying as many as 3.6 million passengers.
United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue complete the list of the busiest domestic carriers.
Almost 350,000 travelers will also depart on international flights to and from the U.S., on more than 1,400 scheduled flights, between December 16 and 22. The busiest route is between New York (JFK) and London (LHR), with 260 services carrying more than 64,000 passengers.
This is followed by flights between Honolulu and Tokyo (NRT), with 136 scheduled services carrying up to 34,000 passengers, while the third most popular route is between London-Heathrow and Los Angeles, with 123 scheduled flights set to carry 33,000 passengers.
Other popular international services include; New York (JFK)–Paris (CDG), New York (LGA)–Toronto (YYZ), Guam (GUM)–Seoul (ICN), Los Angeles (LAX)–Guadalajara (GDL), Los Angeles (LAX)–Seoul (ICN), Chicago (ORD)–London (LHR) and Los Angeles (LAX)–Sydney (SYD).
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our data shows that air travel isn’t slowing down, as for this winter season alone in the U.S., more than 20 million passengers are set to fly between December 16 and 22.
“In the week leading up to Christmas, domestic flights within the U.S. will enjoy a surge in popularity as travelers fly for the holidays.
“The busiest airports include major U.S. hubs, such as Atlanta and Los Angeles, with American carriers operating peak schedules to meet traveler demand during the busy December period.”
For last-minute travelers, Cirium analysis shows that the top ten U.S. airports on Christmas Eve will handle more than 13,000 flights, carrying up to 1.7 million passengers flying for the holidays.
The busiest airport on December 24 is Los Angeles International with over 1,600 scheduled flights, carrying over 238,000 passengers alone. The most popular domestic route on this day is still Los Angeles to San Francisco, with 70 scheduled services, set to carry approximately 9,000 passengers.
Similarly, the most popular international flights on Christmas Eve remain between New York (JFK) and London (LHR), with 28 flights set to carry more than 7,000 passengers.
Passenger estimates are based on a 90 per cent load factor assumption of the scheduled aircraft for the flights.
Cirium analyzes approximately 90 million passenger journeys annually to help the industry to improve traveler experience and efficiently transport people and goods.
For example, Cirium works with over 90 percent of the world’s top 50 airlines, helping them provide information directly to passengers which enable travelers to make more informed choices when on the move. Cirium was also the first to automate the ticket waiver process during times of flight delays and cancelations.
In addition to airlines and airports, the company provides data analytics solutions to businesses surrounding travel, such as aviation asset management, manufacturers, travel management companies, tech giants, like Google and Amazon, online travel companies, such as Expedia, and many more.
Cirium’s solutions are developed from analyzing passenger journeys; tracking up to 100,000 commercial flights per day, evaluating over 2.5 billion travel segments per annum, worth about $380 billion, and holding up to 300 datapoints on every commercial aircraft.
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For further information please visit www.cirium.com and follow Cirium updates via LinkedIn and Twitter.
For media enquiries, please contact: Paul Charles / Michael Johnson / Claire Simpson at The PC Agency via cirium@pc.agency or +44 207 768 0001
Notes to editor
Passenger estimates are based on a 90 per cent load factor assumption of the scheduled aircraft for the flights.
About Cirium
Cirium brings together powerful data and analytics to keep the world in motion. Delivering insight, built from decades of experience in the sector, enabling travel companies, aircraft manufacturers, airports, airlines and financial institutions, among others, to make logical and informed decisions which shape the future of travel, growing revenues and enhancing customer experiences. Cirium is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.
