Air Travel Could Be BETTER During the Holidays This Year

The holidays are fast approaching, and for many, that means traveling.

Will you be flying this season?

Over the summer, travelers saw massive amounts of flight cancellations and saw some airlines cut thousands of flights from their upcoming schedules. That was followed by many airlines offering special deals to fly. So what can we expect for this holiday season? More delays and cancelations? A smoother flying experience compared to the summer, or is there worse to come? Two flight experts have some insight to share.

The Washington Post spoke to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby about the future of air travel for the holiday season. When asked how he thinks their current changes in air travel since the summer will hold up for the holiday season demand, Secretary Buttigieg said that they have really been “seeing several steps really bear fruit in terms of things [they’ve] been working on” but that they’re “really doing three things at once in order to drive and improve passenger experience.”

©United Airlines

He went on to say that those three things are enforcing the rules they have in place, especially when they “have issues like airlines failing to issue the refunds that passengers are entitled to.” The second is “improving the rules as they stand and making sure that they’re tough enough,” and the third is transparency, especially when it comes to the customer service standards of each airline.

Orlando Airport’s New Terminal C

Secretary Buttigieg did admit though that they’re not out of the woods yet, because “there is more work to do on the airlines when it comes to staffing; for us, when it comes to getting our air traffic control where we want and need it to be,” and “for the system and the economy as whole.” He stated he thinks the holiday season will be an improvement from what travelers saw over the summer but certainly won’t be perfect as they “start to see some of these pandemic shockwaves fully work their way through the system.”

Orlando Airport

When asked about what travelers should expect this holiday season, Scott Kirby said that the industry as a whole is “running a lot better” and they’re “setting records every day.” Kirby also shared that thanks to the changes in how the system ran in the summer, it’s a tighter system overall, which means that “if you get bad weather or get something that happens, it can be challenging,” but that he’s overall hopeful for the holiday season.

Where are you flying this winter?

Overall, it seems flight experts are hopeful and/or confident that the system is better prepared for the increase in travel the holidays will bring. If you’ll be one of the many people on a plane this upcoming season, we’ve got plenty of tips to help make your trip as smooth as possible. We’ve found tools that will help ease the stress of planning your trip and 10 ways to save yourself from a travel nightmare.