It’s apparently November but nobody told that to Mother Nature, who is still treating us like it’s the end of summer (at least from our vantage point in Colorado). With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away and Christmas right around the corner, the busy holiday travel season is upon us. Have you booked your flights for Thanksgiving travel 2016?

If you haven’t, don’t – you might as well wait until the last minute at this point. The busiest travel days this year will be the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving, as well as the Wednesday before. The lightest day will be Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 24, so consider flying in that morning, especially if you still haven’t gotten your Thanksgiving travel 2016 flights.

In fact, the tipping point for finding cheap Thanksgiving travel 2016 flights has already passed. According to CheapOair – “Most searches will be done on the 11th and 12th, but most people will commit on the 13th.” Combined with the fact that airlines evaluate inventory with an eye towards lowering fares 10-14 days in advance, the 13th becomes a critical day. Aw, shucks.

On the demand side, airlines are expecting a 2.5% increase in Thanksgiving travel 2016 passenger traffic. To account for this on the supply side, airlines are taking measures to up capacity and the number of flights to meet this increase in demand. Sources say that airlines are, on average, adding 74,000 seats each day during the Thanksgiving travel 2016 period. It”s anticipated that more than 27.3 million travelers (a Thanksgiving travel record) will fly U.S. airlines worldwide from 18-29 November this year. This figure is up 2.5 from last year. Adding 55,000 daily passengers as compared to last year, airlines expect to be carrying 2.27 million travelers on average daily. This anticipated increase is below the purportedly additional 74,000 airline seats per day. So, while Thanksgiving travel 2016 will be, and continues to be, a nightmare, at least you will be able to get where you need to go with the added capacity.

And, you’ll be able to do it in a cost effective way this year. The average cost of a Thanksgiving travel 2016 round-trip flight this year is $409, following a historic 9.6% decline in fares earlier in the year. We covered this as part of our fare wars blog a while back.

Another interesting and lesser known fact is that the Thanksgiving travel rush isn’t even the busiest day for air travel in the year. Contrary to popular belief, the busiest travel day of the year is not actually the Wednesday before Thanksgiving – it’s actually August 7 (at least in 2015). But, the Sunday after Thanksgiving does come in at number 2, according to Quartz.com. In general, the July-August is busier than November-December.

As you’re going through your Thanksgiving travel 2016 journey, keep the tripchi airport app in mind. If you’re looking for a #layovertip or dining or shopping options during that long(er) layover, of course you can bring up the tripchi airport app and find a listing of what’s around you based on your flight time and the Concourse you’re leaving from. If you’re passing through any of the airports we cover, we’d love to get your feedback! Find these tips and more on the tripchi airport app.

1. In the aviation industry? Pass your airport connections our way? We are looking at running a limited trial to prove that we can help not only airport guests, but also airports.
2. Flying soon? We need your help to source more and better airport content. If you’d like to write for us or contribute your airport findings, shoot us an email: contact@tripchi.com.

Read on for the monthly blog highlights!