Airline travel during the 12-day Thanksgiving travel period will reach 28.5 million passengers, 3 percent higher than last year, Airlines for America (A4A) forecasts, averaging 2.38 million passengers daily.
The travel period runs Nov. 17 through Nov. 28 with the highest level of travel expected on Nov. 26. The lightest travel day will be Thanksgiving.
“Airline passengers continue to benefit from the highly competitive air-service landscape this holiday season, as low fares and increased availability of seats continue to make air travel widely accessible,” A4A Vice President and Chief Economist John Heimlich said.
In 2016, revenue collected from the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) was a record $28.8 billion. Fees averaged $34.30 per passenger.
A4A is against Congress’s proposed PFC increase. If airports need to collect additional funds, then they would institute their own fees instead of supporting a tax increase, Sharon Pinkerton, A4A senior vice president of legislative and regulatory policy, said.
A better way to raise funds would be to reallocate funds from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, Pinkerton said.
Nine U.S. carriers reported a combined pre-tax profit of $14.7 billion during the first nine months of the year. This is a decrease a reported profit of $18.4 billion in the first nine months of 2016.