US airlines are expecting carry 2.54 million passengers per day during a record summer period that will see more than 234 million passengers travel between June 1 and August 31.
The figures from the industry trade group Airlines For America (A4A) suggest that the number of passengers travelling on US carriers worldwide will be up by 4 per cent on last year’s record summer figures.
And expect many planes to be full with the average percentage of seats filled topping 83 per cent, despite a move by airlines to add 123,000 additional seats to accommodate the expected 100, 000 additional daily passengers.
The profitable US carriers have been putting more seats into both the domestic and international markets with daily domestic seats up 3.3 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016 and international seats up 6.1 per cent.
And while fares are generally higher during the busy holiday periods, A4A noted they are still more than 40 per cent below 1980 levels when adjusted for inflation.
The industry group said the average round-trip airfare had fallen $US32, 8.5, per cent since 2014 and still made up 94 per cent of the total ticket price.
The other six per cent was made of ancillary fees such as checked baggage charges and these had declined just US17 cents, or 0.8 per cent.
At the same time, wage rises meant Americans could purchase about 2.9 times the amount of air travel they could at the outset of deregulation.
“Rising U.S. GDP, a steadily improving economy, all-time high household net worth and low airfares are fueling the expected growth in summer air travel,” said A4A chief economist John Heimlich. “We continue to see consumers value experiences and travel, and airlines are responding accordingly by increasing staffing and boosting the availability of seats in the marketplace, as well as further investing in new aircraft and customer-facing technology.”
The Transport Security Administration expects peak travel periods in June and July, including the busy July 4 weekend.
In an attempt to avoid the delays seen last year, the TSA has added 50 passenger canine teams and 2000 more officer to help cope with the extra 2.5 million passengers a day.
It has also teamed with security system vendors and airlines to operated automated screening lanes at some airports.
“Fifty automated screening lanes are currently in operation at Newark Liberty International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and more are expected to become operational in the coming months, ‘’ the administration said in a statement. “These lanes are state-of-the-art in advancing security effectiveness, increasing efficiency, and improving the passenger experience.’’
But some delays were inevitable, the TSA conceded, and passengers should arrive early.
“Preparedness can have a significant impact on efficiency at security checkpoints nationwide, so travelers should arrive up to two hours in advance of their flight departure time for domestic travel and three hours for international flights when flying out of the nation’s busiest airports,’’ it said.
The TSA also provided a number of tips for negotiating airport security (see video).
They included not over packing carry-on bags, applying for TSA pre-check and following limits on liquids, gels and aerosols.
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