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Flying the next day after Labor Day?!

I'm trying to book my flights for my RS tour next September. I know I should avoid flying over the Labor Day weekend; what about the day after Labor Day (Tuesday Sep 5, 2023)? Will airports still be busy by then? What about flight delay and cancellation?
I appreciate your response!

Posted by
2300 posts

Probably not too busy. Many schools are in session by then, or start the day after Labor Day. No one can predict delays or cancellations a year away. Unless you’re flying from a hurricane area, weather shouldn’t be an issue.

Posted by
1541 posts

That's our preferred weekend to fly, and have many times, including the Saturday, Sunday and Monday. No issues at the airport at all, in our experience. We did leave the house very early though because long weekend traffic is known to be horrendous around our airport.

Posted by
3985 posts

Nobody has a crystal ball. That said, pre-Covid, I have traveled the Tuesday after Labor Day and it’s been fine. So many schools in the United States seem to start in the beginning of or mid August which is the heart of summer so it shouldn’t be too bad and in the Northeast, school typically begins right after Labor Day. So I don’t think you would see many parents with children traveling together at least from the United States.

Posted by
66 posts

Sounds like it will be okay to fly on Tuesday. I actually want to depart on Wednesday on a direct flight to AMS, follow by a connecting flight AMS-CDG on the next day (Thursday). But for some reason the AMS-CDG afternoon flights on that particular Thursday is $200 more than normal; which explains why the total booking is a lot more expensive .... I wonder if the airlines are tracking my Google Flights search activities 🙂; or if there's some big event scheduled for that weekend.

I have the option of either departing on Tuesday to avoid the above price problem; or flying to another US city for a direct flight to Paris. I generally prefer non-stop flights to Europe, as there are usually many domestic European flights for rebooking in the event of missing connecting flights due to delay in the first flight. Same thing can't be said of the flight across the pond from the West Coast.

Thanks everyone for your response; I really appreciate it!

Off topics:
Now that most US airlines no longer charge a fee for booking cancellation (except Basic Economy). I wonder if it's still worth it to book refundable tickets; as the ecredit issued after the cancellation can be used easily in future travel.

Posted by
982 posts

I just booked a ticket for Europe for Labor Day 2023 as the calendar came open up until the 26th of September for my return. I am using points, so I was able to get a great route with Delta using only 58,000 points return. My friends went ahead and purchased their tickets (main cabin) because they were also very competitive $750 for a return from London. We don't usually get the refundable option as main cabin can be changed. Students are back in school by Labor Day, so fewer families traveling. The bonus of traveling on Labor Day is it is easier to find someone off work to take you to the airport.

Posted by
4616 posts

In my experience, these holidays don't affect international flight prices , and you are usually leaving from the international terminal, so it isn't crowded. These aren't holidays in Europe, obviously. I have flown internationally the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the international terminal has been close to empty.
Hope you have the same experience during the Labor Day holiday.
Safe travels!