Airlines for America (A4A) expects a record 257.4 million passengers — an average of 2.8 million per day — to travel on US airlines between June 1 and Aug 31.
That number is up 3.4% from last summer’s record 248.8 million passengers.
Airlines are adding 111,000 seats per day to accommodate the additional 93,000 daily passengers expected during the summer travel period.
“With airlines offering low fares and reinvesting billions of dollars in their product, there’s never been a better time to fly. This summer, US airlines expect travellers to take to the skies in record numbers,” said A4A vice president and chief economist John Heimlich.
“Air travel is the nation’s safest form of transportation, and it is now more affordable than ever before. U.S. carriers are making airline flights more and more accessible, so it’s no surprise that more and more Americans are flying.”
Inflation-adjusted air fares declined for a fourth consecutive year in 2018, with the average domestic fare dropping to $350, including government-imposed fees and taxes.