HOUSTON — The 2024 holiday travel season is upon us! Before you book your flights for Thanksgiving and Christmas, KHOU 11 did some research to help answer some important questions.
Most reliable airlines for holiday travel
Through their research, NerdWallet concluded that the three most reliable airlines are Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
“As far as airlines with the highest rate of on-time arrivals, that’s actually Delta Air Lines,” NerdWallet travel expert Sally French said. “It’s important to look at both the on-time percentage as well as the overall cancellation rate.”
According to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Delta Air Lines flights arrived on time 91.3% of the time during November 2023 and 90.2% of the time during December 2023. Out of the major airlines, those were the highest percentages during the 2023 holiday travel season.
French said the three least reliable airlines are Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines.
“As far as the worst, those typically go to the budget airlines,” French said. “Reliability just kind of has to do with how many flight options you actually have.”
Data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics showed that Frontier Airlines flights arrived on time 79.9% in November 2023 and 77.4% of the time in December 2023.
According to MarketWatch, out of the airlines with the highest percentage of flight delays during the 2023 holiday season, Spirit Airlines took the cake at 26.64%, followed by JetBlue Airways at 26.20% and Frontier Airlines at 21.45%.
NerdWallet said while budget airlines can be attractive to customers with their lower price points, travelers can face more delays, cancellations and other issues that could end up being more costly in the end.
“There might be additional costs involved in booking that cheaper flight,” French warned. “Paying more money for a flight that is either on a more reliable airline -- an airline that has more flights going out a day, so you have more alternatives -- and also a flight that doesn’t have a layover, is one of your best bets.”
French said with airlines such as Delta, United and Alaska, there are more options for rebooking, which can help you get to your destination on time.
“Go with an airline that’s running through three, four, five flights a day, because even if you can’t get on that first one for whatever reason, you can just jump on the next one,” French advised.
Which airports are the best to fly into?
While travelers might not be able to control which airport they depart from and arrive at for holiday travel, there is data available that can help you decide which locations might add more headaches to longer journeys.
InsureMyTrip compiled a list of the airports with the highest percentage of flight delays between January and June of 2024. They found that San Francisco International Airport topped the list at 37.18% of flights delayed during that period.
But closer to home, three airports in the Lone Star State had around a quarter of flights delayed: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport at 26.46%, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 25.46% and San Antonio International Airport at 25.30%.
“Dallas, San Antonio, Austin. Oh, Texas kind of represents quite a bit of the top 10, unfortunately,” InsureMyTrip CEO Suzanne Morrow said.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston ranks fourth in InsureMyTrip’s list of airports with the highest percentage of 2024 flight cancellations. Their research found that 2.46% of flights at IAH were canceled this year.
“The larger airports tend to have more issues,” Morrow said. “You have one ripple, and it can cascade.”
How will construction at Bush Airport impact your travel plans?
Now, the big question: what about all that construction at IAH?
Well, there is good news. Houston Airport System director Jim Szczesniak said certain closures at IAH will reopen just in time for the biggest rushes of holiday travel: the periods right before Thanksgiving and right before Christmas.
Right now, one lane in front Terminal D is closed due to a construction project for the baggage facility. That lane is expected to open before Thanksgiving.
“The road is originally four lanes. We’ve got one lane closed, and then the closure of that road basically causes a bottleneck at the entrance of the airport. With us being able to open that fourth lane, it’s going to give us much more capacity to have people flow through the airport more efficiently,” Szczesniak said. “Removing that chokepoint is really going to help with the traffic. Now, it is Thanksgiving, so it’s still going to be very busy.”
Despite a high volume of travelers expected for Thanksgiving, Szczesniak said the drive times, overall, will be significantly reduced.
“Right now, the model from point to point tells you it should take about 15 minutes to do the whole loop through the terminal. When the lane opens, it drops to 8 minutes,” Szczesniak said.
Before Christmas, Szczesniak said construction on the new international arrivals curb should be completed, which will open up some much-needed space in that section of the airport.
“You got a single lane there. Now we’re going to be going to a facility that’s going to have eight lanes down there, so it’s a big improvement,” Szczesniak said.
This is all leading up to January when IAH is planning to open the upper level for international flights for United Airlines flights. After months of ongoing traveler frustrations at IAH, airport officials said they are eager to bring some relief to customers.
“It’s a weight off of my shoulders and a weight off the travelers’ shoulders too,” Szczesniak said.