What days of the year are the fewest people flying?
January 6, 2012 1:34 PM Subscribe
What days of the year have the least amount of air travel? I've searched for the answer to this question without any luck. I'd like to know so I can possible try to travel at low-volume times.
This is pure anecdata, but I've traveled on New Year's Eve 3 out of the last 5 years and it was generally pretty quiet and calm at all the airports I went through. I didn't specifically intend to travel on 12/31, but flights on that evening were significantly cheaper than any other day between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3. Also, it's neat to watch NYE fireworks from above.
posted by Mendl at 1:40 PM on January 6, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by Mendl at 1:40 PM on January 6, 2012 [3 favorites]
Friday 13th?
posted by runincircles at 1:45 PM on January 6, 2012
posted by runincircles at 1:45 PM on January 6, 2012
Hipmunk (via lifehacker) calculated this for Thanksgiving - travel the day of the holiday.
A good proxy for this is days that are lower fare. When I booked (international) travel around christmas last year it would have been hundreds of dollars less to travel on Christmas Day itself, I assume because nobody wants to do it.
posted by jacalata at 1:46 PM on January 6, 2012
A good proxy for this is days that are lower fare. When I booked (international) travel around christmas last year it would have been hundreds of dollars less to travel on Christmas Day itself, I assume because nobody wants to do it.
posted by jacalata at 1:46 PM on January 6, 2012
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics doesn't break it down by days, but Feb and then Jan look like the lowest travel months. There's some drop-down menus to play with here to look at particular airlines or airports, and the different tables are accessed right above the headers on the table (eg, 'load factor' might be useful for you.)
posted by cobaltnine at 1:49 PM on January 6, 2012
posted by cobaltnine at 1:49 PM on January 6, 2012
Response by poster: This year I travelled on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 and it was very, very crowded.
posted by bq at 1:52 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by bq at 1:52 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I often try to fly on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for this very reason. My personal experience seems to bear out the hypothesis that there are noticeably fewer people flying those days.
posted by trip and a half at 1:52 PM on January 6, 2012
posted by trip and a half at 1:52 PM on January 6, 2012
I travelled to the USA on Thanksgiving day and the plane was barely half full. Very very quiet travelling. Bliss. I did feel like maybe I was in a movie with Chevy Chase and John Candy though...
posted by Elfasi at 2:00 PM on January 6, 2012
posted by Elfasi at 2:00 PM on January 6, 2012
There's basically no such thing as an empty plane anymore. If that's what you're after, you will be disappointed. Gazillions of dollars are thrown at computerized systems in order to optimize flights such that every single flight will be filled to capacity. The airlines can't afford empty seats.
If you're looking for a quiet and less-packed airport, then wee hour flights are the way to go. Sure it kinda sucks to have to be at the airport at 1 or 2AM, but most airports are ghost towns at that time of day. Your flight may be full, but the airport itself will be largely abandoned.
Note: services, restaurants, and all the other stores are usually closed for a few hours in the middle of the night. Don't expect to be able to buy anything.
Also when sites say "travel the day of the holiday" they mean "the day of the holiday." On December 24th and 31st, people are traveling in order to get somewhere for the holiday. The airport would no doubt have been less busy on the 25th and January 1st.
posted by ErikaB at 2:01 PM on January 6, 2012 [4 favorites]
If you're looking for a quiet and less-packed airport, then wee hour flights are the way to go. Sure it kinda sucks to have to be at the airport at 1 or 2AM, but most airports are ghost towns at that time of day. Your flight may be full, but the airport itself will be largely abandoned.
Note: services, restaurants, and all the other stores are usually closed for a few hours in the middle of the night. Don't expect to be able to buy anything.
Also when sites say "travel the day of the holiday" they mean "the day of the holiday." On December 24th and 31st, people are traveling in order to get somewhere for the holiday. The airport would no doubt have been less busy on the 25th and January 1st.
posted by ErikaB at 2:01 PM on January 6, 2012 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty sure this BTS graph answers your question.
Bottom line: Winter good. Summer bad.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:26 PM on January 6, 2012
Bottom line: Winter good. Summer bad.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:26 PM on January 6, 2012
Relatives of mine flew in to the US on September 11th. It was very quiet. Unfortunately, so quiet that the airline cancelled the flight and put them on a non-direct flight instead :(
posted by Joh at 3:29 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Joh at 3:29 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I've heard that early December is pretty low-volume. It's close enough to the holidays that business travel is down, but people aren't actually traveling for the holidays, and it's not a common time to be a tourist either.
posted by madcaptenor at 3:31 PM on January 6, 2012
posted by madcaptenor at 3:31 PM on January 6, 2012
I would believe traveling the day of a holiday would be the way to do it.
Anecdotally, I was recently flying for my traditional post-Christmas-to-New-Year trip, and I could have saved a lot of money if I could have flown on Christmas instead of the 26th. On the other hand, do you want to know when the airport is really, really dead? 4:30am the day after Christmas. Turns out you can get through security very quickly if you get there as they open for business.
posted by cardioid at 3:50 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Anecdotally, I was recently flying for my traditional post-Christmas-to-New-Year trip, and I could have saved a lot of money if I could have flown on Christmas instead of the 26th. On the other hand, do you want to know when the airport is really, really dead? 4:30am the day after Christmas. Turns out you can get through security very quickly if you get there as they open for business.
posted by cardioid at 3:50 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Christmas day and New Years Day have been very nice for my family, per our limited flying experiences. More laid back with the airport personnel, as well.
posted by SpacemanStix at 4:55 PM on January 6, 2012
posted by SpacemanStix at 4:55 PM on January 6, 2012
I've flown in empty planes, literally being one of three passengers in a 747. The trick is - it is the last plane at 11.30 at night (or whenever the last plane is), going from a minor hub to a major on a weekday, and domestic - they don't fly empty planes international. I got to stretch out and sleep the hour and a half I was flying and I got free alcohol. It was grand. I wish I got the same treatment flying for 24 hours with a baby, but of course no (although emirates are great for long-haul with a baby. A-fucking-men).
posted by goo at 5:58 PM on January 6, 2012
posted by goo at 5:58 PM on January 6, 2012
Best answer: Here are the average load factors (the percentage of seats flying which are occupied, seems like the closest to what you want to know) by month for US domestic flights, 2/05-9/11
Jan 74.2
Feb 75.7
Mar 81.8
Apr 80.9
May 81.3
Jun 85.1
Jul 85.8
Aug 83.6
Sep 77.3
Oct 79.6
Nov 78.2
Dec 78.0
So, according to this your unconditional expectation is that planes will be emptiest in Jan/Feb and most full in Jun/Jul
posted by shothotbot at 7:24 PM on January 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
Jan 74.2
Feb 75.7
Mar 81.8
Apr 80.9
May 81.3
Jun 85.1
Jul 85.8
Aug 83.6
Sep 77.3
Oct 79.6
Nov 78.2
Dec 78.0
So, according to this your unconditional expectation is that planes will be emptiest in Jan/Feb and most full in Jun/Jul
posted by shothotbot at 7:24 PM on January 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the least busy days of the week, with few leisure travelers en route and the business flyers already at their destinations. Fares these days are usually lower.
posted by carmicha at 10:18 PM on January 6, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by carmicha at 10:18 PM on January 6, 2012 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cyndigo at 1:38 PM on January 6, 2012 [1 favorite]