• This season, excessive demand is causing airline ticket prices to reach five-year highs.
• Due to a shortage of pilots and other factors, major carriers continue to cancel flights at numerous smaller airports.
• According to the Regional Airline Association, service at 59 minor and regional U.S. airports has been reduced by half from pre-pandemic levels.

This holiday season, more people may be forced to pay higher prices for filled planes at crowded airports due to airline service cuts that accelerated this summer.

According to the Regional Airline Association, service at 59 minor and regional U.S. airports has been reduced by half from pre-pandemic levels, primarily as a result of pilot shortages and high fuel prices. Out of 430 U.S. airports having scheduled passenger service as of last month, 112 airports have lost at least a third of their flights, according to the RAA’s analysis of flight schedules.

The RAA’s president and CEO, Faye Malarkey Black, described the sharp fall between 2019 and 2022 as “dramatic and, if not unprecedented, only paralleled by post-9/11 loss.” And while the long-running Essential Air Service programme provides government subsidies to dozens of tiny cities to help with air travel, Malarkey Black claimed that even 29 of those areas face the possibility of funding reductions owing to pilot shortages.

She continued, “And I believe the knife is still falling, with further cuts anticipated before year’s end.

This season, airfares for Americans are already more expensive. Thanksgiving and Christmas airfares are expected to be the highest in five years, according to the travel platform Hopper, with domestic round-trip tickets costing an average of $350 during Thanksgiving and $463 during Christmas. According to the most recent inflation figures, airfares increased dramatically by a whopping 43% in October compared to the same month last year.

This year will bring additional difficulties for travellers used to departing from minor airports that no longer offer any service, such as those in Dubuque, Iowa, and Ogden, Utah.

According to Hopper’s head economist, Hayley Berg, “Travelers who must drive a great distance to go to another airport and pay for short- or long-term parking while they are on their journey are likely to see total expenses for holiday travel climb this year.” Additionally draining the budget are hotel stays and additional meals before or after those trips.

According to Scott Keyes, the owner of Scott’s Cheap Flights, “fares are up significantly as a result of service cuts” for the regional flights that do continue to operate.

For instance, on September 6, Ithaca Tompkins International Airport in New York lost its twice-daily American Airlines flight to Philadelphia. Hopper discovered that the prices for Thanksgiving and Christmas at Tompkins were roughly twice as expensive as the national average for domestic round-trip tickets on the remaining United Airlines route to Newark, New Jersey, and the Delta Air Lines route to Detroit. According to Hopper, round-trip Thanksgiving airfare from Ithaca to U.S. locations is currently costing $552, 39% more expensive than it was at the same time last year. And holiday flights from the city cost $605, 10% higher than in 2019.

Pilot shortages have been mentioned by major U.S. carriers as the reason for their reduction at regional airports, with some of them claiming it would take years to find a solution.

United made no comments regarding the prospect of further trimmings. According to the statement, the timetable is “frequently adjusted for a variety of reasons, including demand, the overall needs of our network, and more.”

According to spokeswoman Andrea Koos, American, which has abandoned 15 cities since 2020, still has 100 regional aircraft on the ground that it lacks the pilots to operate. The airline is collaborating with its three wholly owned regional carriers “to ensure we’re able to operate a more reliable regional schedule in the future,” she added.

Since 2020, according to Delta, it hasn’t completely abandoned any airports, and the company’s employment issues are typical for the sector.

However, buyers thus far don’t seem to be discouraged. The 2022 Deloitte Holiday Travel poll found that 46% of holiday visitors want to fly, up from 37% last year. According to travel experts, those wishing to cut costs may think about moving their celebration dates back a few days or at the very least stay away from the busiest days to avoid paying the highest tickets at smaller hubs and larger airports alike.

In comparison to the Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, Hopper predicted that ticket costs will be somewhat lower on the Monday before Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving Day, and on the Friday following. And for Christmas, which falls on a weekend this year, Hopper advises looking for flights on the Monday or Tuesday before the holiday.

When driving to an airport, look for discounts for cheap parking there or at nearby lots. Additionally, reserve a spot in advance to avoid the possibility of getting turned away from a busy lot. Consider “Park, Stay, Fly” deals at hotels close to your airport if you need to make a hotel reservation to make an early flight. These offers frequently bundle a week or more of parking with a one-night stay.

Travelers should also look for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Travel Tuesday deals provided by hotel companies, independent hotels, and travel booking websites – many of which are already active. Some of the promos may involve cheap or improved stays at airport hotels throughout the holidays, however there will be blackout dates.

Some airports in cities that are experiencing reductions claim they are battling to resume lost service in the interim.

The director of Tompkins International Airport in Ithaca, Roxan Noble, stated that “the absence of flights has hurt companies and educational institutions in our area.” She claimed that she spends a lot of time calling big providers and requesting more service from them on Zoom.

She added, “We’re also seeking for a low-cost carrier to enter the market and serve our leisure sector. It might not completely close the gap, but it would certainly assist.

American Airlines’ flights from Toledo Express Airport in Ohio to Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina, were cancelled, leaving only the ultra-low-cost airline Allegiant to serve Toledo residents with nondaily flights to Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona, and three Florida destinations: Fort Myers/Punta Gorda, Orlando/Sanford, and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

The vice president of commercial development for the Toledo-Luca County Port Authority in Ohio, Joe Cappel, stated that “all airports are competing for the same aircraft, the same pilots, and the same crews.” Toledo Express is thus proposing to assist new airlines with everything from marketing and advertising to luggage handling, in addition to providing airlines with attractive incentive packages. Everything that you can imagine is available, he remarked.

Additionally, Dubuque, where a lack of air service “disconnects [the city] from the global marketplace,” has just hired a public relations company to assist in coordinating the efforts of other similarly impacted communities to work on restoring air service. Molly Grover, president and CEO of the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce.

Grover asserted that “commercial air service is an expected amenity to both businesses and citizens alike” and vowed to work “relentlessly, tenaciously” to have it restored.

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