American Airlines Unveils Expectations for Busy Holiday Travel Season

Image: American Airlines plane at airport gate. (photo by Eric Bowman)
Image: American Airlines plane at airport gate. (photo by Eric Bowman)
Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:25 PM ET, Mon December 16, 2024

As the travel industry prepares for the busy winter holiday period, American Airlines announced that it would offer more than 118,000 flights that will carry an estimated 12.7 million customers between December 18 and January 6.

American revealed that Friday, December 27 will be the most-traveled day, followed by Friday, December 20. The airline’s 1,500 mainline and regional aircraft will fly more than 102 million miles during the holiday period.

On Sunday, December 22, the carrier said 1,074 mainline and regional aircraft are scheduled to be en route at 12:40 p.m. CT, the highest number of flights handled at any given time during the winter holidays.

“American delivered industry-leading operational performance over Thanksgiving, and I’d like to thank our team members for their hard work in safely caring for our customers,” American Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said. “We look forward to continuing that momentum as millions once again take to the skies for holiday gatherings and winter vacations.”

During the winter holiday period, the airline will serve more than 6.6 million bags of pretzels.

American will offer a collection of top holiday-themed movies and TV shows while in flight this season, with last year’s travelers estimated to have watched nearly 20 million minutes during their journeys.


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