Christmas Travel Will Experience Cut of 60 Million Airline Seats

Booking flights for Christmas travel will not be so merry this season. UK newspaper The Telegraph reports that airlines across the world will cut 60 million seats for the holiday. The U.S. will be hit the hardest, losing 20 million, and Europe will lose 5.5 million.

Expect air fares to significantly rise as 275 airports cross the globe will reduce routes, meaning 3,500 airplanes will remain unnecessary. The Official Airline Guide (OAG) reports that the reduction, an average of one in every 14 seats, will come as a consequence of high fuel costs.
An estimated 59.7 million fewer tickets will be available this year when compared to October-December of last year.

European airlines British Airways and Ryanair have already announced their planned reductions in flight capacity, and OAG experts predict further reductions will follow throughout the industry in 2009.