Best days to fly in terms of seat capacity

[jpboyce]

Hi all,

I hope I'm asking this question in the right area. Last year in early November, I went on a holiday to the US and flew with Qantas, going from Perth to Sydney and then LA. On the flight out, L left on Wednesday Australian time and the planes were relatively empty. On the way back, I left the US on Wednesday evening Australian time with the Sydney to Perth flight being on Thursday morning. Both these flights were packed (the Sydney-Perth leg seemed to have a lot of FIFO-looking guys) and I didn't enjoy that part of the trip as I was in economy class.

So what I'm trying to find out is if there's any sort of pattern or cycle relating to these flights and how full or empty they might be. Any help with this would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[puppysparkes]

Hi jpboyce, unless you know what the FIFO rosters are, you'll need to subscribe to Flight Availability | Upgrades | Frequent Flyer Information or put your question to those who have a subscription here: Expert Flyer Discussion

If that fails PM me with the dates and class of travel and I'll check the seat for loadings for you.

ps there are alot of FIFO looking guys and girls all over AFF.

 

[jpboyce]

Thanks for the reply. I didn't mean to offend anyone with the FIFO comment (and I hope noone took it that way), it was more an observation on that particular leg of the return flight and that perhaps the day I picked had contributed to the flights being fuller on the way home. As a comparison, the flights home from memory would've been at least 80% full, while the flights out were probably only 50% full with the 2 seats next to me being empty (I was on the left window seat in a 3-4-3 configuration).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi all,

I hope I'm asking this question in the right area. Last year in early November, I went on a holiday to the US and flew with Qantas, going from Perth to Sydney and then LA. On the flight out, L left on Wednesday Australian time and the planes were relatively empty. On the way back, I left the US on Wednesday evening Australian time with the Sydney to Perth flight being on Thursday morning. Both these flights were packed (the Sydney-Perth leg seemed to have a lot of FIFO-looking guys) and I didn't enjoy that part of the trip as I was in economy class.

So what I'm trying to find out is if there's any sort of pattern or cycle relating to these flights and how full or empty they might be. Any help with this would be appreciated. Thanks.

It can depend on a lot of factors. November might traditionally be a quiet period because a lot of students are in exams. December will start to get more busy.

Then there are school holidays. While your flight on an ordinary Wednesday might have been quiet, during school holidays the Wednesday might be quite full (especially if the cheap fares for the previous Sat/Sin/Mon all sold out, so people then go to the next cheapest fares on Tue/Wed).

 

[Mattg]

As a general rule, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the quietest days to fly. Saturday evenings also tend to be quiet. Of course, that all goes out the window during school holidays, long weekends, special events etc.

 

[kelvedon]

Yes Tuesdays and Wednesdays are traditionally the quietest, ..oh and Christmas Day. Domestic flights on Christmas Day in the mornings have disproportionally more hung over 20 somethings on their way to their families, and in the afternoons unaccompanied children of divorced parents travelling to comply with family court orders.