Shifting travel patterns keep airlines guessing

STORY: Changing travel trends are driving up airlines’ operating

costs and hurting revenue even with strong demand

It's left carriers guessing at what

the 'new normal' looks like

Source: Analysis of U.S. TSA data

Passenger traffic has fallen 14% on average this year

on Tuesdays and Wednesdays compared to Mondays

Traffic picks up again on Thursdays

That’s led one U.S. carrier, Frontier Airlines,

to slash mid-week flights by 20%

And no-show rates have gone up as customers

change their travel plans more frequently

Passengers are also booking further out

Delta’s CEO ascribed it to an elimination of flight

change fees and customers locking in travel opportunities

Source: Hopper

That’s cooling domestic airfares, with the average

round-trip declining 15% to $285 in April from last year