Airlines Set to Fly Millions for Fourth of July

Airlines are gearing up for what is expected to be another record breaking Fourth of July, with international bookings up.

Airlines and federal agencies are preparing for what could be the busiest Fourth of July travel period in more than a decade.

The FAA expects a total of 300,000 flights between July 2 and July 8 – it said it is “preparing for the busiest Fourth of July week we’ve seen in 15 years.”

The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 18.5 million people between July 1 and July 7. July 6 will see the highest passenger volumes at around 2.9 million.

United Airlines anticipates flying around six million passengers for the July Fourth holiday weekend. For the summer, the carrier said it will fly 50 million passengers, about three million more than last year.

International travel is also up. United said international bookings are up nearly 5% this summer compared to last summer, and the most popular destinations include: London, Cancun, Frankfurt, Rome, and Paris. June 27 and July 3 are expected to be the busiest travel days for United.

Airlines are expected to report their second-quarter earnings in the coming weeks, and while carriers reported softening demand for domestic travel, it seems as if that trend is expected to continue.

A June 27 Deutsche Bank report found that domestic demand for the second quarter, particularly among price-sensitive travelers, has been weak.

International travel has been the most resilient, with demand continuing to increase. During United’s first-quarter earnings call, chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said international demand was offsetting much of the weakness in domestic.