Airlines Increase Seats Ahead of Memorial Day Weekend

New data from airline data company Cirium shows airlines are increasing their seats by nearly 6% compared to 2023, and over 12% compared to pre-pandemic figures.

American, Frontier, and Other Low-Cost Carriers Lead Seat Gains

Low-cost carriers are bracing for the most passengers by adding the most available seats among all airlines. Of the bigger carriers, Frontier Airlines is adding 32% more flights and 36% more seats for the entire month, while Sun Country Airlines is adding 24% more flights and seats in May. Smaller low-cost carriers Breeze Airways and Avelo Airlines are adding more than 25% more flights to end May 2024.

In the ranks of the major airlines, American Airlines is adding the most flights and seats, with a 14% and 12% increase respectively. Alaska Airlines is increasing flights by 6.8%, while Delta Airlines is boosting flight numbers by 4.6%. Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue are the only carriers to cut flights from their schedule for the month. Hawaiian’s total flights are down 3.5% compared to 2023, while JetBlue’s schedule cut 13.8% of flights year-over-year.

Where are the flyers coming and going to for the weekend? Montana is becoming one of the bigger destinations, with 32% more seats available to the Big Sky state compared to 2023. Pennsylvania is getting an increase of 17% while the Carolinas are both getting a boost of at least 16% more seats for May 2024. Colorado, Minnesota, Utah, and Alaska also saw double-digit percentage increases this month.

Some international carriers are also bracing for a boost in trans-Atlantic travel coming for the Memorial Day holiday. Airlines increasing their seat capacity by over 10% for the weekend include Air France, Lufthansa, Condor, Iberia, ITA Airways, and Singapore Airlines.