Air journey storylines we’ll be watching in 2026

2025 was a busy, eventful — and, at instances, sobering — 12 months when it got here to air journey.

We noticed 8 of the ten busiest days ever at U.S. airports, together with an all-time single-day file simply after Thanksgiving, as shoppers continued to speculate their cash (and factors) in journey at a file tempo.

That was regardless of a roller-coaster 12 months for financial sentiment — to not point out a barrage of regarding aviation headlines that included a lethal crash in January, mass delays in Newark in May and rampant air site visitors management staffing shortages in the course of the longest authorities shutdown in historical past.

As all that unfolded, Southwest Airlines turned heads with the top of its long-standing “bags fly free” coverage. We noticed Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines launch an all-new airline loyalty program. Delta Air Lines once more led the pack in TPG’s Best Airlines Report.

And one in every of America’s best-known finances airways remained in monetary turmoil — a scenario that tops our listing of the largest air journey storylines to look at in 2026.

Best airways report: Delta tops TPG’s rankings for seventh straight 12 months

All eyes on Spirit Airlines

Spirit Airlines begins 2026 simply because it started 2025: within the midst of Chapter 11 chapter.

This time, although, the scenario seems extra severe.

The Florida-based ultra-low-cost provider, identified for its huge, bright-yellow planes, has been unable to climb out of a monetary gap within the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Late final summer season, Spirit executives raised doubts in regards to the firm’s future, and Wall Street analysts have carried out the identical.

All eyes can be on the provider within the coming weeks and months.

Will it in the end merge with prime finances competitor Frontier Airlines, in spite of everything? Will Spirit, as we all know it, be round this time subsequent 12 months? Time will inform.

But even vacationers who by no means fly Spirit ought to be watching with concern. After all, the downward stress the airline places on fares in the end impacts the worth all flyers pay after they guide a flight.

Spirit Airlines in chapter: What shoppers ought to learn about reserving flights=

Related: The finest instances to guide flights for the most cost effective airfare

Southwest’s greatest modifications but come this month

We’ve been speaking for a superb 18 months in regards to the modifications underway at Southwest, together with its $35 checked bag charges that launched final spring, drawing the ire of loyal clients.

But its greatest change of all lastly arrives this month.

On Jan. 27, the provider will go reside with its much-talked-about shift to assigned seating, ending its first-come, first-served coverage that’s been in place for a half-century.

The transfer will even spell the top of its single-file boarding course of in favor of an eight-group setup that can look … effectively, like nearly each different main provider’s.

But it’s additionally price watching what else Southwest does in 2026.

The airline has performed coy about including different once-unthinkable merchandise like first-class seats, long-haul flights and lounges (the latter appears to already be within the works.

CEO Bob Jordan has framed these additions as a “2026 question.”

And 2026 is now right here.

Read extra: The true Southwest Airlines reboot is sort of right here — and it could be only the start

The premium wave comes into focus

Over the previous few years, airways have pledged to go all-in on providing vacationers high-end experiences — from the large legacy airways to the finances carriers and in between.

2026 would be the 12 months we see a lot of these premium-focused merchandise hit the market en masse.

This 12 months, United Airlines is anticipated to debut its all-new Polaris product and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with an ultraluxe configuration.

After American Airlines launched its next-generation Flagship Suites on a handful of planes final 12 months, the brand new business-class product will turn out to be a fixture on many extra of the provider’s jets because it will get new planes and updates older ones.

The provider has additionally promised a “steady stream” of airport lounge information.

Also on faucet this 12 months:

TPG’s 2026 Travel Trends Report: The hole between premium and finances experiences is widening

An enormous deal with the ‘basics’

I believe we’ll be speaking about “basic” so much this 12 months.

American made an unfriendly-to-customers change to its fundamental financial system coverage simply earlier than the vacations.

Delta and United have dropped hints about including a “basic business-class” fare. Heck, Delta’s already began providing “basic” variations of its extra-legroom “Comfort” tickets.

Delta now sells ‘Comfort Basic’ tickets: What to know earlier than you guide

Don’t be stunned for those who see extra airways tighten up their fundamental financial system ticket guidelines — or roll out new, unbundled fare choices — in 2026.

Exciting new routes coming

Here at TPG, we like to see thrilling new airline routes and locations, and there are loads on faucet for this 12 months:

United has stolen the present in recent times with flights to head-turning locations like Mongolia and Adelaide, Australia — and, maybe most of all, the epic flight to Greenland that I took in June.

Traveling to Greenland on United Airlines: What to anticipate, and what to do when you’re there

There’s extra on faucet in 2026, with a giant deal with Europe: Bari, Italy; Split, Croatia; and Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Delta will launch service to Sardinia and Malta after letting its clients and workers vote on its latest European locations.

American’s greatest splash will possible be the launch of transatlantic service with its brand-new, premium-heavy Airbus A321XLR airplane — although the provider will even start flying to Budapest and Prague.

Also price mentioning: Alaska Airlines will make its debut in Europe, and Southwest subsequent month will fly to its first new metropolis in 5 years — a brand new Caribbean vacation spot, at that.

What will occur with airfare in 2026?

Whether airfare will rise or fall is at all times prime of thoughts for shoppers. And there’s loads to look at on this entrance in 2026.

Over the previous couple of years, a glut of flights has ushered in traditionally low fares (adjusted for inflation) as carriers supplied up reductions in an effort to fill seats on their planes.

If you flew final 12 months on a low-demand Tuesday in September, you’ll have discovered a steep low cost.

Will 2026 see fares climb?

Late final 12 months, quite a few U.S. airways slashed flights, hoping fewer departures would assist them regain pricing energy.

But that does not essentially imply vacationers will discover sticker shock when reserving a flight within the new 12 months, mentioned John Grant, business analyst at aviation knowledge agency OAG.

“I equally suspect that [consumer] demand will not be quite as strong,” Grant mentioned. “All of which leaves me sitting on the fence with a prediction of little or no change” when it comes to fares.

To find the best flight deals in 2026:

• Try flying on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday
• Book your summer trip for August, instead of the ultra-busy June or July
• Visiting Europe? If your schedule allows, consider joining the wave of travelers making the trek in the late-winter, early-spring or autumn — when prices are lower, crowds are thinner and temperatures are cooler.

Will AI determine your airfare in 2026?

Speaking of fares, Delta turned heads in 2025 when it revealed it was using artificial intelligence to influence prices on a growing portion of its flights.

Competitors threw shade at the tactic, and lawmakers sent angry letters.

But nearly every airline (like every industry) is trying to integrate AI into its operations in some form or fashion; we’ve certainly heard about how some airlines are using it to help with logistics and operations.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if another airline or two gives its dynamic pricing algorithm an AI infusion of some sort.

Read more: Is AI the reason your flight costs more? What Delta’s new pricing tech really means

Air traffic control remains front and center

It seems like we spent half of 2025 talking about air traffic control.

And for good reason: Staffing shortages among this critical aviation workforce played a major role in the high-profile disruptions last spring at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), and fueled mass disruptions during this past fall’s government shutdown.

Congress has allocated funds for key ATC equipment upgrades, and the U.S. Department of Transportation has pledged a surge in controller hiring.

But all of these improvements will take years to come to fruition, especially after the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly lost hundreds of controller trainees during the 43-day shutdown.

That means the threat of air traffic control-related delays remains real in 2026.

Flyers can only hope Washington avoids another shutdown, with another government funding deadline looming on Jan. 30.

Will more consumer protections get rolled back?

Worth watching in 2025: what, if any, air travel consumer protections the Trump administration opts to end, change or otherwise stop enforcing.

Already, we saw the DOT ditch a rule proposed by the Biden administration that would have given passengers cash compensation when their flight was delayed or canceled and the airline was at fault.

Meanwhile, the airline business’s prime commerce group has known as for extra passenger protections to be rolled again.

Will their lobbying show profitable?

We’ll be watching.

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