The Busiest Months, Days and Times for Flights by Laura Jackson

As the fall turns to winter and the days become shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, my thoughts turned toward the busiest times for travel. I know that November ranks as one of the slower travel times of the year, but I wasn’t sure exactly where November ranked. This week’s air service analysis summarizes at the busiest months, days and times for flights. All analysis includes worldwide flights as reported in OAG.

Busiest Months of the Year
In reviewing months by flight departures for 2009, July and August are the busiest months. The list below ranks the months from most flight departures to least flights departures.
1. July – 8.9 percent of worldwide flights
2. August – 8.9 percent of worldwide flights
3. October – 8.5 percent of worldwide flights
4. June – 8.5 percent of worldwide flights
5. May – 8.4 percent of worldwide flights
6. September – 8.4 percent of worldwide flights
7. December – 8.3 percent of worldwide flights
8. March – 8.3 percent of worldwide flights
9. April – 8.2 percent of worldwide flights
10. November – 8.1 percent of worldwide flights
11. January – 8.1 percent of worldwide flights
12. February – 7.4 percent of worldwide flights
Of course, it’s not surprising that February ranks last since with only 28 days in 2009, February is the shortest month this year. Therefore, in order to more accurately rank flights by month, it is necessary to adjust for the number of days in each month, calculating an average for each month. While July and August retain the top two positions using this method, all other rankings change, including that of February.
1. July – 8.7 percent of worldwide flights
2. August – 8.7 percent of worldwide flights
3. June – 8.6 percent of worldwide flights
4. September – 8.5 percent of worldwide flights
5. October – 8.4 percent of worldwide flights
6. April – 8.3 percent of worldwide flights
7. May – 8.3 percent of worldwide flights
8. November – 8.2 percent of worldwide flights
9. December – 8.2 percent of worldwide flights
10. March – 8.2 percent of worldwide flights
11. February – 8.0 percent of worldwide flights
12. January – 7.9 percent of worldwide flights
Busiest Days of the Week
The initial calculation of the busiest day of the week shows that Friday is the busiest day, followed closely by Thursday.
1. Friday – 15 percent of worldwide flights
2. Thursday – 14.9 percent of worldwide flights
3. Monday –14.8 percent of worldwide flights
4. Wednesday – 14.7 percent of worldwide flights
5. Tuesday – 14.4 percent of worldwide flights
6. Sunday – 13.6 percent of worldwide flights
7. Saturday – 12.6 percent of worldwide flights
However, there is one more Thursday in 2009 than any of the other days of the week, which means that an adjustment is again necessary to accurately determine the rankings of the busiest days of the week. After the adjustment, Friday remains the busiest day, Saturday remains slowest day, and Thursday drops from second to fourth place; all rankings are included below.
1. Friday – 15 percent of worldwide flights
2. Monday – 14.9 percent of worldwide flights
3. Wednesday – 14.7 percent of worldwide flights
4. Thursday – 14.7 percent of worldwide flights
5. Tuesday – 14.4 percent of worldwide flights
6. Sunday – 13.7 percent of worldwide flights
7. Saturday – 12.6 percent of worldwide flights
Busiest Times of the Day
The final cut of the data is to look at flights by departure time. Not surprisingly, the middle-of-the-night hours have the least number of flight operations.
1. 0800-0859 – 6.9 percent of worldwide flights
2. 0900 – 0959 – 6.7 percent of worldwide flights
3. 1700 – 1759 – 6.7 percent of worldwide flights
4. 1000 – 1059 – 6.7 percent of worldwide flights
5. 1600 – 1659 – 6.4 percent of worldwide flights
6. 0700 – 0759 – 6.4 percent of worldwide flights
7. 1100 – 1159 – 6.3 percent of worldwide flights
8. 1300 – 1359 – 6.2 percent of worldwide flights
9. 1500 – 1559 – 6.1 percent of worldwide flights
10. 1400 – 1459 – 6.1 percent of worldwide flights
11. 1200 – 1259 – 6.1 percent of worldwide flights
12. 1800 – 1859 – 6.0 percent of worldwide flights
13. 1900 – 1959 – 5.6 percent of worldwide flights
14. 0600 – 0659 – 5.2 percent of worldwide flights
15. 2000 – 2059 – 4.5 percent of worldwide flights
16. 2100 – 2159 – 3.2 percent of worldwide flights
17. 2200 – 2259 – 1.8 percent of worldwide flights
18. 2300 – 2359 – 1.0 percent of worldwide flights
19. 0500 – 0559 – 0.9 percent of worldwide flights
20. 0000 – 0059 – 0.4 percent of worldwide flights
21. 0100 – 0159 – 0.2 percent of worldwide flights
22. 0200 – 0259 – 0.2 percent of worldwide flights
23. 0400 – 0459 – 0.2 percent of worldwide flights
24. 0300 – 0359 – 0.2 percent of worldwide flights
Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes for CY2009, unless otherwise noted.