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It’s National Cheap Flight Day, Book Now!

Author Bob Bronson
Empty airport terminal lounge with airplane on background. 3d illustration

Book em!

Good news! If you’ve been waiting to buy plane tickets for Thanksgiving and the holidays, it’s National Cheap Flight Day . . . supposedly the best day to buy your airline tickets.

It’s been a thing since 2015.  A site called CheapOair says that according to their data, holiday plane tickets tend to hit rock bottom today.  And that’s not totally baseless.

June ticket swoon

Prices do usually start dropping in June, and keep going down through most of August.  So now is a good time to buy for a lot of us. The airlines know that summer vacation season is ending and school is starting up again. Traditionally not a very busy season for flight bookings. Most tickets that are purchased this time of year is for business travel. The lucrative vacations season is done and they want to continue booking flights.

Enticing pricing

Let’s say you were not considering flying for the rest of the year because you know how expensive flying can be during the holiday season. What if a flight that you were not even thinking about was so cheap you decide what the heck, book it! The airlines want you to do just that. You will also see enticing pricing on the Thanksgiving and Christmas travel season.

Is it legit?

Some experts say there isn’t really one “best” day.  Cheap Flight Day is just based on the overall average, and it really depends on when and where you’re flying.

In general, the best prices tend to be one to three months before you fly.  Or two to eight months if you’re flying to another country.

Just don’t wait until the last minute and expect to find crazy deals a week before you fly.  According to one expert, deals like that used to be a thing but “basically don’t exist anymore.”

 

 

Bob is a native New Englander, growing up (sorta) in Maine where his love for radio started at a young age. While in high school he hosted radio shows on a local radio station, and he has never looked back. Bob joined the US Navy and served onboard the Sixth Fleet Flagship as a radio and TV host. After serving for 3 years, it was off to Emerson College in Boston. Bob hosted shows in Boston on WMEX, WVBF and WSSH in the 80’s and 90’s before heading to radio stations in Raleigh, NC, Manchester, NH, and New York City. Bob has been married for almost 25 years to Carolyn, a Woburn gal and they have 3 daughters, Nicole, Taylor, and Bridget. Bob and Carolyn are proud first-time grandparents to baby Caroline, who they plan to spoil every chance they get! “I started my career in New England and could not be happier to come back to Boston where I can root for all the Boston sports teams and eat lots of lobster rolls and clam chowder (okay not lots)… It is an honor to host the WROR morning show with LBF and wake up the World’s Greatest City!” Bob writes about recipes and restaurants, pop culture and trending topics.

Boston Logan Named One Of The Worst Airports For Luggage Handling

If you’ve ever had an airline or airport lose your luggage, you know what an inconvenience that is. It almost feels personal, because of all your personal belongings. If you’ve ever had an airport or airline damage your luggage, well that hurts too. So, how did Logan Airport fair in the recent Forbes Advisory survey? You probably already knew, but Boston Logan was named one of the worst airports for luggage handling!

Summer 2023 is shaping up to be one of the busiest for airports around the country, as people are jumping on the vacation train. After 2 years without travel, thanks to the pandemic, it seems many of us are playing catch-up on taking trips. I certainly was one of them. I waited quite a few years for my recent family vacay to Italy. Worth the wait, and the hassle? Most of us would say, “yes!” I’m a yes!

Travel season is here, and so is the chance your luggage might not make it to your destination. It could be lost or damaged. In the Forbes Advisory survey, most travelers are concerned about their luggage being mishandled. Even though Boston ranks high for luggage dissatisfaction, we aren’t the worst. This is one time when we can revel in New York City beating Boston! Find out below why Boston Logan was named one of the worst airports for luggage handling, and what the criteria for the ranking is.

 

  • Criteria for ranking

    How did Forbes Advisory come up with their list of the worst airports for lost or damaged luggage? According to the article in FA, they compared the country’s 100 busiest airports, and used 4 key metrics collected from TSA data.

    • Number of property damage claims per 100,000 domestic passengers (30% of score)
    • Number of property loss claims per 100,000 domestic passengers (30% of score)
    • Percentage of property damage claims reimbursed in full (20% of score)
    • Percentage of property loss claims reimbursed in full (20% of score)

    In addition, the survey analyzed statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation to determine which airlines are most likely to mishandle luggage.

  • #1. New York

    New York, New York!

    John F. Kennedy International Airport scored 100 out of 100 to take the top spot.

    JFK had the highest number of both property loss claims (1.93 claims per 100,000 domestic passengers) and property damage claims (1.48 claims per 100,000 domestic passengers). Those numbers were collected between the years 2013 and 2022, Stand by because New York isn’t done yet! 3 of the  top 15 worst airports for lost and damaged luggage are in New York. Aside from JFK, there’s Albany International Airport (ALB) and Westchester County Airport (HPN).

  • #2. Miami

    Miami International Airport’s score: 89.88 out of 100

    Coming in with the 2nd highest score, Miami’s property loss claims were 1.48 per 100,000 domestic passengers. While property damage claims were 1.06 per 100,000.

    Miami International Airport - iflyMIA - Miami International Airport

    Miami International Airport (MIA), located on 3,230 acres of land near Downtown Miami, now offers more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other U.S. airport.

  • #3. Los Angeles

    Los Angeles International (LAX) Airport’s score: 87.12 out of 100

    LAX has the 7th highest number of property loss claims, at 0.81 per 100,000, according to the survey. They also tied for Fort Lauderdale for having the 11th highest number of property damage claims (.70 per 100,000)

  • #4. Norfolk

    Virginia’s Norfolk International Airport’s score: 80.37 out of 100

    With the 13th highest number of property loss claims in the last 10 years, Norfolk International Airport saw .70 claims per 100,00 domestic passenger. Bad news if  your luggage was damaged; “just 22.92% of claims for property damage caused during ORF’s TSA screening process were fully reimbursed, the 10th lowest amount.”

     

  • #5. Fort Lauderdale

    Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) Airport’s score: 80.06 out of 100

    FLL Fort scored the 9th highest number of property loss claims over the past decade (0.77 claims per 100,000 domestic passengers), while ranking 11th highest property damage claims

    Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL)

    Informational Guide to Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood Int. Airport (FLL) - Arrivals, departures, terminals, transport, parking, car rental, maps

  • #6. Boston

    Here we go Boston, here we go! Or not. We can certainly do better.

    Boston Logan International Airport’s score: 79.29 out of 100

    Logan tied with tied with Southwest Florida International Airport for having the 9th highest number of property damage claims. There were 0.64 claims per 100,000 passengers for property loss,  and 0.71 claims per 100,000 passengers for property damage, as stated in the report. So how did they handle it? Logan reimbursed in full 20.78% for lost luggage, and 30.74% for property damage. I’d hate to be the 60 % who never got their full payment.

     

     

  • #7. Las Vegas

    Harry Reid International (LAS) Airport’s score: 78.99 out of 100

    At LAS in Nevada, over the last decade, only 15.88% of claims for property loss caused during Harry Reid International Airport’s TSA screening process were fully reimbursed. That ranks as the 14th lowest percentage.

    Harry Reid International Airport

    LAS Airport at Clark County Department of Aviation

  • #8. Newark

    New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International (EWR) Airport’s score: 78.07 out of 100

    Newark had the 4th highest number of property loss claims (1.05 claims per 100,000)

    Aviation

    No Description

  • #9. Honolulu

    Hawaii’s Daniel K. Inouye International (HNL)Airport’s score: 76.84 out of 100

    As reported in Forbes Advisor, between 2013 and 2022, the Honolulu airport had the 8th highest number of property loss claims.

    Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

    HNL - Official State of Hawaii Website (Honolulu)

  • #10. Washington, DC

    Dulles International (IAD) Airport’s score: 76.23 out of 100

    The Nation’s Capital didn’t fair much better than the rest on this list. IAD also had the 5th  highest number of property loss claims (0.97 claims per 100,000 domestic passengers).

  • The Worst Airlines

    What about the airlines, aren’t they partially responsible for lost or damaged luggage? Here are the worst airlines for lost/damaged luggage, according to the Forbes Advisor report, from the survey:
    1 American Airlines 5.34
    2 SkyWest Airlines 4.51
    3 United Airlines 4.00
    4 Alaska Airlines 3.80
    5 JetBlue Airways 3.17
    6 Frontier Airlines 3.09
    7 Delta Airlines 3.08
    8 Hawaiian Airlines 2.90

     

Author Bob Bronson
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