Less Crowded Terminals This Coming Labor Day

First, the good news. Airline terminals across the country should be less crowded this coming Labor Day weekend: shorter security lines, more places to park, etc. More good news: there should be fewer delays. The not-so-good side: this doesn't automatically equate with more room on board your flight. That's because there are simply fewer flights out there to be had.

The Air Transport Association (ATA) (Web site: www.airlines.org) forecasts that 16 million passengers will travel globally on U.S. carriers between Wednesday, August 27, and Wednesday, September 3, a 5.7 percent decline from last year's figures when 17 million of us took flight. ATA says fuel prices, higher airfares, and reduced airline schedules are to blame.

Although energy prices have receded from record highs in recent weeks, Jet A (that's the stuff that powers commercial airlines) has averaged $160.47 per barrel, a 79 percent increase from the $89.82 it cost in 2007.

To almost every issue, there's a flip side. And the obverse of this one is that delays are down decidedly across the country. The Department of Transportation (Web site: www.dot.gov) says that in June and July just 27 of every 100,000 domestic flights encountered taxi-out times of more than three hours duration. During the same two months last year, that figure was 49 per 100,000. “On the customer service front, airlines have been taking every conceivable step to minimize delays and improve operational efficiency,” says James C. May, ATA President and CEO.

That there are fewer airplanes out there actually taxiing out hasn't hurt the improving on-time picture.

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler