Why are planes so jammed? Airlines want it that way so they can charge more

If you’re flying this holiday season and you’re noticing the plane feels more packed, while your wallet feels thinner, there’s a reason for that.

If you’re flying this holiday season and you’re noticing the plane feels more packed, while your wallet feels thinner, there’s a reason for that. A record 31 million passengers are expected to fly US airlines over the course of this week, according to Airlines for America, the industry trade group. And while many airlines have increased the available number of flights and seats, those capacity increases have not kept pace with demand. That limited supply, combined with the strong demand, means passengers are paying more. This trend of capacity growth not keeping up with demand has been going on for decades. The industry went from having 74% of seats filled in 2003, to 84% in the first 10 months of this year. With some of the busiest months yet to come, a new record for the percentage of seats airlines’ filled is within reach. Thanksgiving week is always one of the busiest of the year and so it’s not surprising planes are full and fares are high. But even the slower travel periods have a higher percentage of seats filled than they used to. This past January, typically one of the slowest months for air travel, 79% of the seats were filled, compared to 69% in January 2004. Fuller planes have sent fares soaring recently.