The busiest spring break: United Airlines expects a rush despite travelers' concerns about prices

United Airlines is expecting the busiest spring break in its history this year, despite travelers' concerns about rising prices. The carrier reported that it plans to serve more than 21 million passengers from March 8 to April 21, which is almost 10% more than last year.

This means an average of more than 200,000 people per day during this period. This is about 15,000 more than last year, according to nbcnews.com.

United said that it expects the busiest travel day to be Friday, March 22, when more than 500,000 passengers are scheduled to depart. In addition, the week of March 25 will be the busiest for travel, with an average of about 480,000 people flying each day of that week.

Last month, the Expedia travel group reported separately that the April 8 solar eclipse seemed to have caused the largest increase in bookings. The number of seats in Texas - the state where the event is one of the largest - almost doubled. And searches in Dallas increased by 95% compared to last year, in Austin - by 90%.

United and Expedia reported that traditional spring break destinations such as Florida, Cancun, Mexico, and Las Vegas remain at the top of this year's list of most popular destinations.

According to Hopper, a travel booking company, 90% of respondents who traveled this spring said that price and availability were the main factors in choosing a destination.

However, despite the high demand, prices have actually fallen this year. According to Haley Berg, Hopper's lead economist, the average price of a "good deal" for those planning a spring break trip to the US in advance is down 2% from last year and 11% from 2019, and is about $250.

In fact, according to Haley, the lower prices are helping to boost demand. Thanks to increased competition from low-cost airlines, more seats on planes, and a return to full capacity, the price continues to fall, a trend that was seen before COVID-19.

"This has been great for consumers. Before the pandemic, prices had been steadily falling for years. This is what has allowed the millennial generation to travel frequently," she concluded.

Earlier, TravelWise reported that United Airlines will change its fares for passengers this year .