Week Before Thanksgiving a Travel Nightmare for Business Flights

If you’ve got to squeeze in a last-minute flight for your small business, you’ll want to avoid the week before Thanksgiving.

In new research from Concur, the busiest days for business travel this year will be Wednesday, November 15, and Thursday, November 16. On these days specifically, you can expect long lines at the airports and even the possibility of getting bumped from an overbooked flight.

Avoid Business Travel Before Thanksgiving

Concur says the week before Thanksgiving, namely the second to last Wednesday and Thursday before the holiday in the U.S. is typically the busiest time for business flights.  Last year, the busiest days were Nov. 16 and 17. But don’t think that traveling any other day that week is a breeze. The week before Thanksgiving is a busier time for business air travel than any other throughout the year.

Check out this chart showing weeks when business travel is busiest throughout the year. Look for the bars above the baseline:

To arrive at this conclusion, Concur analyzed the amount of corporate travelers and compared each day against the volume on the average weekday. There are 58 percent more business travelers taking to the skies on those two days than any other throughout an average work week.

And not only are there a lot more people on flights. Many of them will be relatively inexperienced travelers too. That’s likely to lead to more delays.

Concur finds: “The infrequent travelers are more than likely making their annual visits to customers or attending industry trade shows and this may be the only trips they take all year.”

Though it’s too late this year, it’s best to know the least busy travel time for businesses is July. If you’re still planning to take that last-minute trip this year and can’t avoid a flight the week before Thanksgiving, it’s best to book very soon. Concur found that flight ticket prices jump 44 percent higher if they’re booked within 8-14 days of the flight.

Engine Turbine Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Week Before Thanksgiving a Travel Nightmare for Business Flights" was first published on Small Business Trends