Expect fewer flights this Thanksgiving

Syracuse, New York (WSYR-TV) - We're one month away from the start of the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel season, and if you're planning to fly, expect thousands fewer flights to choose from, compared with last year.

3,000 fewer to be exact, according to USA Today's analysis of holiday flight schedules released Monday morning.

High fuel prices forced airlines to cut costs and eliminate many flights, and many routes altogether.  So what does that mean for you?  Planes will likely be much fuller, and you'll pay more for your seats.

USA Today looked at the airlines' flight schedules from November 20th, the Thursday before Thanksgiving, to November 30th, which is the Sunday after.

At Hancock, number of flights down

USA Today found fewer flights from Hancock Airport to four major hubs: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, and Dallas.

From November 20th to the 30th, Syracuse has:

- 40 non-stop flights to Atlanta, which is down 9 from last year. 

- 22 non-stop flights to Charlotte, which is down by three from last year.

- 93 non-stop flights from Syracuse to Chicago, that's down by 11 from last year. 

- From Syracuse to Dallas there are no non-stop flights, last year we had 11.

Nationwide flight numbers

Nationwide, compared with last Thanksgiving, the flight cuts this year amount to 2.6 million fewer seats on non-stop domestic routes during that time period.

The cutbacks are the most noticeable on Thanksgiving Day; US Airways isn't operating 40% of the flights it did last year.  Delta cut 26%, and United Airlines cut 22%. 

Fewer flights means that if your flight is delayed or cancelled, it'll be harder to get on another quickly.

USA Today found one airline that’s adding flights: Jet Blue.  The airlines bucking the trend and actually operating 3% more flights than it did last year.