LAXintl From United States of America, joined May 2000, 22024 posts, RR: 51 Posted (6 months 1 week 6 days ago) and read 564 times:
Orbitz is out with its annual projections for travel demand this holiday season.
Based on booking data at the nations 50 largest airports, Orbitz has identified what it forecast to be the most and least-busy ones for travel between Nov. 21 and Nov. 26, 2012.
Busiest:
1. ORD
2. LAX
3. SFO
4. LGA
5. BOS
6. JFK
7. MCO
8. DEN
9. DCA
10.FLL
And if you are looking to beat the crowds, then head to these airports below.
MountainFlyer From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 363 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 565 times:
Quoting kngkyle (Reply 1): No ATL? Seems kinda strange, unless they were just looking at O&D.
I didn't see where it explicitly said O&D, but I am assuming they are referring to O&D. Not included in the top ten are significant hubs like ATL, DFW, DTW, IAH, yet MCO, DCA, and FLL make the list. Also, hubs CLE and SLC fall towards the bottom of the list (Orbitz says they included the top 50 airports based on arrivals & dep in the country, so the bottom of the list is 41-50).
Delimit From United States of America, joined Jan 2009, 1432 posts, RR: 1 Reply 3, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 23 hours ago) and read 565 times:
If it is O&D the list is no surprise. If you combined the three NYC area airports you'd probably just see a nice correlation between airport and market size.
The only airport on the list that really seemed odd was DCA.
kgaiflyer From United States of America, joined Jul 2008, 3645 posts, RR: 1 Reply 5, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 565 times:
Quoting Delimit (Reply 3): The only airport on the list that really seemed odd was DCA.
There are many young, modern, upscale DCers who don't own automobiles, and for them DCA is the only choice. DCA also seems to be the airport of choice for DC-area people who fly the family only over the holidays.
But with NK now at BWI, I don't know what the improvised-luggage / backpack folks are going to do
AirframeAS From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 14150 posts, RR: 26 Reply 6, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 565 times:
Delimit From United States of America, joined Jan 2009, 1432 posts, RR: 1 Reply 7, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 565 times:
Quoting kgaiflyer (Reply 5): There are many young, modern, upscale DCers who don't own automobiles, and for them DCA is the only choice. DCA also seems to be the airport of choice for DC-area people who fly the family only over the holidays.
Sure. I guess I was just surprised that IAD still doesn't carry a larger share of DC's traffic than DCA. I mean, I would always prefer to fly into DCA, but I was just surprised that the slot limitations didn't push more traffic to Dulles.
MountainFlyer From United States of America, joined Jul 2005, 363 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 21 hours ago) and read 565 times:
Quoting Delimit (Reply 3): The only airport on the list that really seemed odd was DCA.
I would guess (pure speculation) that DC has one of the highest levels of workers who don't actually live in or near the city, especially when you include Congress and all of their staff.
kngkyle From United States of America, joined Dec 2006, 354 posts, RR: 1 Reply 12, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 565 times:
Quoting OB1504 (Reply 11): How is FLL there, but not MIA?
The list only considers O&D. Miami has a lot of connecting traffic with AA, and a lot more international traffic which likely doesn't experience an increase from thanksgiving. Whereas FLL is more O&D centric.
BNAOWB From United States of America, joined Dec 2009, 349 posts, RR: 1 Reply 13, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 564 times:
Assuming that holiday travelers are more likely to be younger relatives going "home" to visit older relatives than the reverse and assuming that these younger relatives are more likely to have moved south or west than north or east (considering the population growth of the south and west compared to the north and east), is anyone aware of pre-holiday travel being slightly skewed to northbound/eastbound while post-holiday travel is slightly skewed to southbound/westbound?
N766UA From United States of America, joined Jul 1999, 7988 posts, RR: 27 Reply 14, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 4 hours ago) and read 564 times:
Quoting LAXintl (Reply 9): I find it hard to believe CLE is so far down the list!
Eh, considering we're so close to so many places driving-distance wise, and the weather hasn't turned so far south yet that everyone wants to jump ship and fly away... kinda makes sense to me. Also makes a great case for the hub, I think, because it means a relatively easy connection vs. the fortresses.
IADCA From United Kingdom, joined Feb 2007, 972 posts, RR: 7 Reply 15, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 564 times:
Quoting MountainFlyer (Reply 8): I would guess (pure speculation) that DC has one of the highest levels of workers who don't actually live in or near the city, especially when you include Congress and all of their staff.
Congress plus staffers constitutes, at most, two or three thousand people in a metropolitan area of millions.
Quoting Delimit (Reply 7): Sure. I guess I was just surprised that IAD still doesn't carry a larger share of DC's traffic than DCA. I mean, I would always prefer to fly into DCA, but I was just surprised that the slot limitations didn't push more traffic to Dulles.
For those who live in the city or along the Blue, Yellow, and even some places on the Orange line in VA, it can be faster in total time to connect out of DCA than fly nonstop from IAD. It's also more predictable in terms of time to get to DCA; Dulles varies vastly depending on traffic, and I think this just annoys people. Once you're on board with connecting, the slots don't really matter much, as there are adequate flights to at least one major hub of every large carrier.
Quoting kgaiflyer (Reply 5): There are many young, modern, upscale DCers who don't own automobiles, and for them DCA is the only choice.
There's always the 5A bus, or friends with cars. Seen them on the bus, been that friend. I think the "upscale" is the most important part of that sentence. I'd rather spend $50-70 extra to fly from DCA than drive myself to Dulles, park my car (or inconvenience one of my friends), or take a $50 cab ride. When I made less money, that calculation was different.
kgaiflyer From United States of America, joined Jul 2008, 3645 posts, RR: 1 Reply 16, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 564 times:
Quoting MountainFlyer (Reply 8): Quoting Delimit (Reply 3):The only airport on the list that really seemed odd was DCA.
I would guess (pure speculation) that DC has one of the highest levels of workers who don't actually live in or near the city, especially when you include Congress and all of their staff.
But the entire federal enterprise is fairly spread out over DC, central Maryland, and northern Virginia -- why the DC area has three airports. But DC itself has half-a-million people living in a geographic area the size of a bath mat. It's the density that sends the numbers to DCA.
RyanairGuru From Australia, joined Oct 2006, 2493 posts, RR: 2 Reply 17, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 564 times:
Even if it is O&D alone, I am somewhat surprised that EWR didn't make it into tens top 10.
Re DCA, the DC area has one of the largest "out of state" local populations of any metropolitan area in the country. A lot of people from elsewhere move to DC to be in DC for work (and not just Congress, executive agencies - for example - attract applicants from all over the country). Mom and the cousins are back in NYC, Chicago or wherever, so I'm not at all surprised that DCA has a high number of travellers over Thanksgiving.
lightsaber From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 10649 posts, RR: 100 Reply 18, posted (6 months 1 week 5 days 3 hours ago) and read 565 times:
Is this list by passengers per square meter of floor space? That seems to be the trend among the airports...
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