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. According to Reuters, major U.S. carriers are on track to report strong profits as they focus on higher fares and fuller flights.
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—or at least an empty seat next to them—is 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.
Denied Flight Boardings for U.S. Flights
The odds of getting “bumped” have risen again after reaching historic lows during the pandemic
The odds of being denied boarding—commonly referred to as being “bumped” from a flight—have risen again, following record lows during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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.
Involuntary denied boardings—where passengers are forced off overbooked flights—dropped 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’ return to pre-pandemic booking practices.
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.
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Average Empty Seats by Airline
Avelo, Breeze, & Frontier flights typically have the most empty seats
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.
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.
Average Empty Seats by Flight Segment
Shorter flight routes are more likely to have empty seats
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.
Among the top-ranked flights overall, several shorter routes stand out for their high vacancy rates:
- Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Jackson/Vicksburg, MS (JAN) on Southwest Airlines, with 53.8% of seats empty for a 341-mile flight.
- Orlando, FL (MCO) to Miami, FL (MIA) on Delta Airlines, with 52.1% of seats empty for a 192-mile flight.
- Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Nashville, TN (BNA) on Southwest Airlines, with 46.8% of seats empty for a 214-mile flight.
While passengers are more likely to find empty seats on shorter segments, several longer flight routes exceeding 1,000 miles also report high percentages of empty seats. For example:
- Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) to Christiansted, VI (STX) on Spirit Airlines, averages 40.8% empty seats for its 1,140-mile route.
- Austin, TX (AUS) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX) on United Airlines, averages 35.9% empty seats for its 1,242-mile route.
- Cleveland, OH (CLE) to Fort Myers, FL (RSW) on United Airlines, averages 32.9% empty seats for its 1,025-mile route.
- Chicago, IL (ORD) to West Palm Beach/Palm Beach, FL (PBI) on United Airlines, averages 32.1% empty seats for its 1,144-mile route.
These outliers may be influenced by seasonal demand, niche markets, or competition from other airlines. For travelers looking to secure a more comfortable in-flight experience, these flights—both short and long—offer some of the best opportunities to enjoy extra space.
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Below is a complete list of domestic U.S. flight routes broken down by airline, highlighting the average number of empty seats per flight. This analysis, conducted by Luxury Link—a luxury travel booking platform—utilizes data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Travelers can use this information to identify routes that typically have the most empty seats, increasing their chances of securing a more comfortable flight experience. Additionally, the data allows passengers to compare airlines and pinpoint which carriers are more likely to operate flights with greater availability for specific routes. For details on the data sources, criteria, and flights included in the analysis, refer to the methodology section.
Methodology
To find the flight routes where passengers are most likely to have the row to themselves, researchers at Luxury Link analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Domestic Airline Consumer Airfare Report. Flight routes shown are for one-way trips, aggregated as directionless airport pairs by individual operating airline. The average empty seats per flight for each flight route was calculated by subtracting the difference in average seats per flight and average passengers per flight. Flight data was averaged from November 1, 2023 through October 31, 2024, the latest 12-month period available. For relevance, only flight routes with an average of 50 or more seats, 200 daily passengers (one-way), and two flights per week (either direction) were included in the analysis. Additionally, intrastate flights within states and territories outside of the contiguous United States were excluded from the analysis, along with anomalous flights that originated and terminated at the same airport. For additional context, flight routes were grouped into cohorts based on one-way distance: short distance (under 1,000 miles), medium distance (1,000–1,999 miles), long distance (2,000 miles or more).
