Expect Less Play on Labor Day and A Big Dip in the Friendly Skies

The Air Transport Association, the trade group for the country’s major domestic airlines released a forecast this morning that says Labor Day travel will drop nearly 6 percent this year.

They project that 16 million passengers will travel on U.S. airlines between Aug. 27 and Sept. 3, a 5.7 percent drop from the estimated 17 million passengers who traveled on domestic carriers during this same period last year. The group predicts domestic travel will actually drop 6.5 percent, but that international travel will rise 1 percent.
High-energy prices, rising airfares and airline schedule cuts are said to blame for the holiday dip.

“We expect airplanes to be less full and skies to be less crowded this Labor Day holiday,” ATA President and CEO James C. May said in a written statement. “Economic uncertainty and the heavy hit from sky-high energy prices mean that many vacation and business travelers are choosing to stay closer to home – if they go at all.”