{"id":5146,"date":"2025-02-11T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T08:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luxurylink.com\/blog\/?p=5146"},"modified":"2025-05-19T18:52:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T18:52:20","slug":"flight-routes-where-you-are-most-likely-to-have-the-row-to-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luxurylink.com\/blog\/flight-routes-where-you-are-most-likely-to-have-the-row-to-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Flight Routes Where You\u2019re Most Likely to Have the Row to Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Credit: GaudiLab \/ Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Flying has become an increasingly packed experience over the years, with airlines seeking to optimize every seat as part of their post-COVID recovery efforts. The industry has leaned heavily on “capacity discipline,” a strategy aimed at balancing ticket supply with demand to boost profitability. <\/span>According to Reuters<\/span><\/a>, major U.S. carriers are on track to report strong profits as they focus on higher fares and fuller flights.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, crowded flights remain one of the most frustrating aspects of air travel, with limited overhead bin space, slower boarding times, and cramped seating making the journey less enjoyable. Overcrowding also increases the risk of being bumped from a flight, as airlines routinely overbook to maximize capacity and account for no-shows. For many travelers, having an empty row\u2014or at least an empty seat next to them\u2014is a rare luxury. While U.S. airlines typically fly with about 19% of seats unoccupied on average, certain routes stand out for their consistently higher vacancy rates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Denied Flight Boardings for U.S. Flights<\/span><\/h2>\n

The odds of getting \u201cbumped\u201d have risen again after reaching historic lows during the pandemic<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Source: Luxury Link analysis of U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data. Image Credit: Luxury Link<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following record lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, the likelihood of being denied boarding\u2014commonly referred to as being “bumped” from a flight\u2014has once again increased. During the height of the pandemic, airlines faced drastically reduced demand and often flew with empty seats, leading to fewer instances of overbooking. However, as air travel has surged back, so too have denied boardings, particularly involuntary ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

Involuntary denied boardings\u2014where passengers are forced off overbooked flights\u2014dropped to a historic low of just 0.3 incidents per 100,000 passengers in Q4 2020, with only 290 people affected that quarter. By Q2 2024, this rate had climbed to 3.3 per 100,000 passengers, impacting 7,794 travelers. Similarly, voluntary denied boardings, where passengers are compensated for giving up their seats, have risen sharply from 5,177 in Q2 2020 to 84,307 in Q2 2024, reflecting airlines\u2019 return to pre-pandemic booking practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The upward trend in denied boardings suggests that the days of abundant empty seats are behind us. Airlines are once again operating at or near full capacity, creating more competition for seats and increasing the likelihood that passengers may need to be rebooked or displaced.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Average Empty Seats by Airline<\/span><\/h2>\n

Avelo, Breeze, & Frontier flights typically have the most empty seats<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Source: Luxury Link analysis of U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data. Image Credit: Luxury Link<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When it comes to finding flights with more space to stretch out, low-cost carriers like Avelo Airlines, Breeze Airways, and Frontier Airlines lead the pack. On average, these airlines operate flights with the highest percentage of empty seats, with Avelo topping the list at 26.7%, followed by Breeze Airways at 25.2% and Frontier Airlines at 24.4%. These higher vacancy rates can be attributed to differences in business models, including their focus on underserved markets and less-trafficked routes, which often result in lower passenger loads compared to major carriers. At the other end of the spectrum, larger carriers like Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines fly with some of the fullest flights, maintaining empty seat averages of just 14.5%, 15.9%, and 16.4%, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Interestingly, regional airlines tend to have lower levels of empty seats. While Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines have higher average vacancy rates of 20.8% and 19.8%, respectively, many regional carriers operate flights with below-average empty seats. Airlines like Piedmont (15.6%) and CommuteAir (13.1%) maintain some of the fullest flights among all airlines. A key factor in this trend is that many regional airlines operate under contract with larger carriers such as American, United, and Delta. As mentioned above, these major airlines, which often sell tickets under their own branding for flights operated by regional partners, tend to have low levels of excess capacity on their flights.<\/span><\/p>\n

Average Empty Seats by Flight Segment<\/span><\/h2>\n

Shorter flight routes are more likely to have empty seats<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Source: Luxury Link analysis of U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data. Image Credit: Luxury Link<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shorter flight routes tend to have the highest percentage of empty seats. Of the top 100 flight segments in the U.S. with the most vacant seats, all but three are under 1,000 miles, and 78 are under 500 miles. Short flights often face lower demand because passengers have viable alternatives, such as driving, buses, or trains, which can be more convenient and cost-effective for shorter distances. Airlines also tend to schedule frequent departures on short routes to offer flexibility and convenience, which spreads passengers across multiple flights and reduces load factors. Additionally, demand on these routes can be highly seasonal or irregular, particularly for flights serving tourist destinations or rural areas, leading to more empty seats during off-peak times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the top-ranked flights overall, several shorter routes stand out for their high vacancy rates:<\/span><\/p>\n