An estimated 24.6 million passengers will climb aboard U.S. airlines over the Thanksgiving travel period, up a bit from the same period in 2013, Airlines for America predicted Thursday.
The trade group also said Sunday, Nov. 30, should be the busiest travel day, followed by Monday, Dec. 1, and Wednesday Nov. 26. The lightest days likely will be Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, and the day afterward, Friday, Nov. 28.
It said that about 24.2 million people flew on U.S. airlines in the 2013 period. The 2014 total is expected to be up by about 1.5 percent.
“An expanding U.S. economy, rising personal incomes, employment growth and lower energy prices are driving growth in demand,” A4A vice president and chief economist John Heimlich said in the group’s release.
The organization will hold a conference call with media Thursday morning to discuss its projections for the period between Friday, Nov. 21, and Tuesday, Dec. 2.