Orbitz Insider Index Reveals the Busiest Airports for Thanksgiving

CHICAGO, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Turkey isn't the only thing synonymous with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.  Orbitz (www.orbitz.com) today unveiled its recipe for Thanksgiving travel with the Insider Index of the busiest airports during the November holiday.  This year's index features both time-saving tips at the nation's busiest airports, as well as a list of the least busy alternatives for Thanksgiving travelers that have not yet booked their flights.  

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"The Thanksgiving holiday is one of the busiest travel periods each year, and before we settle down for dinner with family and friends, most of us will face a few travel-related frustrations," said Jeanenne Tornatore, Senior Travel Editor of Orbitz.com.  "Thankfully, there are some tips and tricks to help alleviate those frustrations, and for those still thinking about traveling, some great alternative airports that take you off the beaten path."

According to the Air Transport Association of America (ATA), travelers can expect to face a 3.5 percent year-over-year increase in the number of passengers on U.S. airlines expected during the last two weeks of November.  The ATA projects a total of 24 million travelers taking domestic flights over that period.  

Orbitz Insider Index Top 10 Busiest Thanksgiving Airports

This year, the Insider Index looked at the top 100 U.S. airports based on arriving, departing and connecting flights to determine the most and least busy for Thanksgiving travel between occurring between 11/23/10 and 11/29/10.  

Chicago O'Hare International once again outpaced all other domestic airports over the Thanksgiving holiday, with 20 percent more flight activity than second place Los Angeles International.  Boston Logan International ranks third on our list of busiest airports, with the three New York tri-state airports capturing the fourth (La Guardia), seventh (John F. Kennedy) and eighth spots (Newark).  

Washington Ronald Reagan National barely beat out Orlando International for the last spot, and is the only new entrant in this year's list (replacing Seattle Tacoma International from the 2009 list).  Other major changes from last year include Boston Logan International climbing from sixth to third, and Atlanta Hartsfield International dropping from fifth to ninth in 2010.  

Orbitz Insider Index Top 10 Least Busy Thanksgiving Airport Alternatives

The Orbitz Insider Index has good news for travelers still searching for flights to or from airports that have a less frenetic pace than their larger counterparts.  For the second straight year, Orbitz is revealing its top 10 list of the least busy Thanksgiving airport alternatives.  

While these airports aren't necessarily the least busy in the top 100 list, they are the least busy alternatives relative to other major airports serving destinations in the area, and should prove easier to navigate over Thanksgiving.

Orbitz Insider Index Tips and Tricks to Save Time and Frustration During Holiday Travel

Know Your Alternatives:  There's usually a tradeoff when choosing between a major or alternative airport and you should know the difference before booking.  In many cases, you'll gain convenience and accessibility in exchange for a smaller spectrum of flights.  Akron / Canton Regional and Dane County Regional are reliable alternatives for travelers that don't mind an hour drive to Cleveland or Milwaukee.  Additionally, Chicago Midway (Chicago), Oakland International (San Francisco), and John Wayne International (Los Angeles) are very close alternatives to the larger airports in their respective markets.  

Patience is a Virtue:  Don't expect all of your Thanksgiving travel plans to happen without a hitch.  You may face a delay or be asked to make alternative plans at some point.  Prepare for the worst, hope for the best and build buffers into your itinerary to mitigate any one-off disruptions without jeopardizing your entire trip (and sanity).  

Travel Light:  This is both a money and time saver for any Thanksgiving traveler.  Pack light to save on the fees and additional time required to check bags.  This will also make the next tip more valuable.  

Online Check-In:  You should check-in online and print your boarding pass before heading to the airport, particularly if you are traveling light.  Alternatively, some carriers now allow you to check in from your smart phone and use a digital bar code that appears on the device screen to pass through security checkpoints.  Until that technology is more widely accepted, however, we recommend that you print out your boarding pass just in case.  

Security Line Scramble:  This is the biggest bottleneck in any airport over Thanksgiving.  A little pre-planning can vastly cut down your individual time (unfortunately, it still won't help speed up the group in front of you).  Keep your ID and boarding passes in the same pouch or pocket, and your liquids, medication and other red flag items in an easily accessible compartment of your carry-on bag.  Always be prepared to take off your shoes, belt and/or large metal jewelry.  Your laptop needs a separate bin, and you best find a new home for the loose change in your pocket.  

(1) Busiest airport data based on air ticket bookings of the top 100 domestic airports on Orbitz.com with arrivals and departures between 11/23/10 and 11/29/10.

(2) Least busy airport alternatives data based on air ticket bookings of the top 100 domestic airports on Orbitz.com with arrivals and departures between 11/23/10 and 11/29/10.

About Orbitz.com

Orbitz.com (www.orbitz.com) is a leading online travel company that enables travelers to search for and book a broad array of travel products, including airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages. Since launching its Web site to the general public in June 2001, Orbitz.com has become one of the largest online travel sites in the world and has led the industry with innovations including Flight Price Assurance, Hotel Price Assurance and Total Price hotel search results. On Orbitz.com consumers can search more than 80,000 suppliers worldwide including airlines, hotels and car rental companies. Orbitz.com is owned by Orbitz Worldwide.

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About Orbitz Worldwide

Orbitz Worldwide is a leading global online travel company that uses innovative technology to enable leisure and business travelers to research, plan and book a broad range of travel products. Orbitz Worldwide owns a portfolio of consumer brands that includes Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), CheapTickets (www.cheaptickets.com), ebookers (www.ebookers.com), HotelClub (www.hotelclub.com), RatesToGo (www.ratestogo.com) and the Away Network (www.away.com).  Also within the Orbitz Worldwide family, Orbitz Worldwide Distribution (http://corp.orbitz.com/partnerships/distribution) delivers private label travel solutions to a broad range of partners including many of the world's largest airlines, and Orbitz for Business (www.orbitzforbusiness.com) delivers managed corporate travel solutions for corporations. For more information on partnership opportunities with Orbitz Worldwide, visit corp.orbitz.com.  Orbitz Worldwide uses its Investor Relations website to make information available to its investors and the public at http://www.orbitz-ir.com. You can sign up to receive email alerts whenever the company posts new information to the website.

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