As air travel in the US surges, travelers are finding flights that are full as they have not experienced before. This is because not only is there a crew shortage, there is a considerably shrunken schedule. The recovery came too fast for the industry – pretty much the same way the pandemic hit much faster than the industry expected.Â
Your correspondent thought by the end of the summer air traffic numbers would have recovered to 2019 levels. This may have been too conservative and is great news for the travel industry.
For readers planning US domestic air travel, we have an updated model to share. Our model has grown to about 33 million records and provides a wealth of insight on time day to select a flight to minimize delays. Remember current schedules are not what they once were. But you will able to see that selecting the earliest flights of the day offer the fewest delays. The later you fly the greater is the chance you will have a delay.Â