2015 Labor Day Travel Will Outpace Last Year, Trade Group Says

— -- Air travel will be even more popular this Labor Day weekend than last, a leading airline industry trade organization projected today.

About 14.2 million travelers are expected to take to the skies during the seven-day Labor Day travel period, which stretches from Wednesday, Sept. 2, through Tuesday, Sept. 8, Airlines for America (A4A) said today. That’s 59,000 more passengers per day than flew over the same period last year, a 3 percent increase, A4A calculated.

More than 10 percent of this year’s Labor Day period passengers – around 1.6 million – will be international fliers, according to the trade group’s projections.

The busiest day for travel? Friday, September 4.

“Air travel remains a bargain” and demand is “healthy,” A4A chief economist John Heimlich told reporters today.

Carriers are responding to this holiday’s expected uptick by boosting seat availability, he said.

More good news? If the first six months of this year are any indication, passengers may be more likely to arrive on time.

Airlines’ on-time arrival rate in the first half of 2015 – 77.2 percent – is up 3.5 percentage points compared to the same period in 2014, A4A said today, attributing the improvement to “investments in systems, procedures and staffing,” as well as “more benign weather.”