United Expects Busiest Day Since Pandemic During Thanksgiving

As the United States prepares for the Thanksgiving rush, United Airlines announced on Wednesday that it expects to carry over five million passengers during the holiday period.

According to Reuters.com, United officials revealed that an estimated 5.5 million people will fly with the carrier during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, defined by the company as November 15-30.

The 5.5 million passengers would represent a 12 percent increase compared to 2021. To meet the increased demand expected for the Thursday holiday, the airline will operate more than 3,700 flights per day on average during the Thanksgiving travel period.

United predicts the Sunday after Thanksgiving will be the carrier’s busiest travel day since before the pandemic, with more than 460,000 expected passengers. The airline also revealed it forecasts carrying as many passengers over this year’s holiday period as it did in 2019.

Earlier this week, AAA released its official Thanksgiving predictions, saying that over 54 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the 2022 holiday.

The data shows that an estimated 4.5 million people will travel via plane during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period—which is defined as the five-day period from November 23-27—an eight percent increase from 2021 and nearly 99 percent of the 2019 volume.

AAA also revealed that average hotel booking prices across the U.S. have increased in 2022 ahead of Thanksgiving. The average cost of a hotel stay is up eight percent compared to 2021, but the overall price has decreased in many of the top holiday destinations, including Las Vegas and Denver.