Flight bookings for Thanksgiving and Christmas are up from 2024

Thanksgiving and Christmas travel is set to shatter records this year, according to new data.

Booking data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, indicates that the number of reservations made between June 20 and Oct. 8 for travel during the two major holiday periods is up compared to the same time last year. Bookings for Thanksgiving travel are 2% higher, while bookings for travel around Christmastime are up roughly 1% compared to 2024.

That’s consistent with expectations from major airlines.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby in September said 2025 was shaping up to be a busy holiday travel season. 

“The entire fourth quarter, the fall break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, they’re all likely to set records with strong demand,” Kirby told CBS News last month. “At the beginning of July, it was like a light switch got flipped on and demand started to come back.”

Kirby noted that Thanksgiving and Christmas reservations have “further accelerated” demand for flights, which he sees as a strong indicator that the economy is in good shape. 

Delta Air Lines is also “expecting the holidays to be great,” CEO Ed Bastian said on the company’s third quarter earnings call last week.

Cirium analyzed data from online travel agencies and other sources. The analysis tracks with airlines’ perception of consumer demand, too. 

Airlines have added nearly half a million more seats for the Thanksgiving travel period compared with last year to accommodate what it anticipates will be an uptick in demand for flights. 

For example, Southwest and American Airlines each added well over 100,000 additional seats for Thanksgiving.

The government is currently shut down, however, as the holidays approach, raising concerns about the kinds of issues airline passengers could face at airports if a lapse in funding persists. 

While aviation experts told CBS News that air travel remains safe during the shutdown, they noted that staff shortages at some airports across the U.S. could lead to more delays than usual for passengers.

When essential personnel, including air traffic controllers call out sick, for example, the FAA takes steps to slow down air traffic to keep the skies safe.