Can you believe it? 2018 is getting ready to wrap up, which means the busy holiday travel season is right in front of us.

 

Even though you might be an experienced holiday traveler, with every route, things change. A new study, released by AirHelp, shows the most crowded and most disrupted US flight routes during the holiday travel season. Thanks to them, you can book your flights accordingly and hopefully save your holiday cheer. Broken down by holiday, here is a list of the busiest routes.

 

With Thanksgiving literally around the corner, you should have booked your travel plans by now. If you’re a little slow this year, try to avoid these hectic routes. Just last year, data shows that the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 21, 2017 to the following Monday, with more than 153,000 flights taking off in the US alone.

 

  1. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
  2. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) → Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
  3. New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) → Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
  4. Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) → New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
  5. Kahului Airport (OGG) → Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
  6. Honolulu International Airport (HNL) → Kahului Airport (OGG)
  7. New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) → Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
  8. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
  9. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS)
  10. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) → Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

 

If that doesn’t bother you, some of these same flights were also in the running for the top 10 most disrupted flights.

 

  1. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
  2. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) → Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
  3. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
  4. San Diego International Airport (SAN) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
  5. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) → San Diego International Airport (SAN)
  6. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) → Orlando International Airport (MCO)
  7. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) → Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS)
  8. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) → Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
  9. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
  10. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

 

We all know that flights for Christmas and New Year’s are the worst, not to mention the most expensive. There are hardly any seats, regardless of the cost and you’ll definitely have to get to the airport two or three hours early if you want to get through security. AirHelp’s data analyzed the busiest travel days for the Christmas week, between Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, and Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Here are the top 10 most popular departure dates and locations from that week.

 

  1. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL): December 29
  2. Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD): December 22
  3. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): January 2
  4. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): January 2
  5. Denver International Airport (DEN): December 22
  6. Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT): December 27
  7. Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): December 29
  8. San Francisco International Airport (SFO): December 22
  9. New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK): December 21
  10. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR): December 22

 

You still have some time to purchase a ticket for Christmas and New Year’s Eve travels. Now is the prime time. Booking about nine weeks in advance can save up to $260. Just think about it. You could be using that money on gifts.