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.
Luxury Link analyzed all U.S. flights over a 12-month period to find the airlines and flight routes with the most empty seats—where passengers are most likely to end up with a whole row to themselves.
Major Takeaways From the Analysis, With Data for SAT Airport
Nearly 20% of airline seats go unfilled: Across all flight routes, almost 1 out of every 5 seats was empty, on average, over the past 12 months.
Shorter flights tend to have more 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.
Budget airlines tend to have more empty seats than major carriers: Low-cost carriers like Avelo Airlines, Breeze Airways, and Frontier Airlines average the most empty seats per flight—26.7%, 25.2%, and 24.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, Delta, United, and American have the fewest at 14.5%, 15.9%, and 16.4%, respectively.
Empty seats on flights to/from SAT: On average, 22.7% of seats on flights in and out of SAT are empty—more than the national average of 18.9%.
These are the 10 flight routes to/from San Antonio with the most empty seats on average:
*For optimal 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.
This analysis was conducted by Luxury Link—a luxury travel booking platform—utilizing data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The data is also grouped by airport for added context. 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.
