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BetUS on Monday announced wagering options on this Thanksgiving's flight delays and cancellations in the U.S (2022).
"We're hoping for a new tradition," Barry Barger, BetUS Senior Betting Analyst, said upon the release of these odds.
Millions of Americans are set to be traveling this Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The Wednesday night before Thanksgiving has long been considered the busiest travel day of the year.
A report on November 1st stated that nearly 25 million fliers are expected to depart on flights from US airports during the Thanksgiving travel week, which begins Monday 11/21 and typically concludes Sunday night, 11/27, with a few last minute stragglers Monday morning.
Airports are struggling to add sufficient staff, including pilots and flight attendants. A little inside information: Friends of the Gambling911.com website who are flight attendants and pilots tell us that the airlines had offered early retirements to large numbers during the pandemic. Staff were asked to postpone vacations in order to cover during the post-pandemic surge. Some airlines have paid top bonuses to encourage their employees not to take sick days during the holiday period, which is essentially what they were doing the past two years. It's unclear if employees are now caught up with their paid vacation time off.
If you're gonna have your own vacation ruined sleeping in an airport, you might as well make some side money on a bet.
"Now, you can bet on Thanksgiving Week travel chaos from the comfort of home – including which airline or airport will cancel the most flights or have the most delays," Barger said. Somehow we get the impression he's been there, done that.
"You can even bet an over/under on the total number of canceled flights as easily as you can bet the over/under on the total points scored on the Thanksgiving football games. We began offering the odds for the first time this year. This is an industry first, and a great entertainment option for those who choose to stay home. In fact, we’re hoping to start a new Thanksgiving tradition here, Barry Barger, senior betting analyst at BetUS Sportsbook."
While our money will be on Frontier and Spirit, BetUS believes Alaska will have the most delays.
At +200 odds (2:1) a $100 bet at BetUS on Alaska Airlines to suffer the most cancellations would result in a net profit of $200 to the bettor (as well as the return of the $100 stake).
Rounding out the top five are Frontier Airlines (+275), United Airlines (+350); Delta Airlines (+450), and Southwest Airlines (+450) are tied in fourth place.
Spirit Airlines (set to be taken over by JetBlue no later than the first half of 2024), ranks fifth place in the odds for the airline to suffer the most cancellations, at +650 odds. The least likely to suffer cancellations are American Airlines and JetBlue, at +750 and +900 odds, respectively.
As far as airports go, our money is on Newark (some of us worked there for six years, so we know).
Leading the BetUS list of airports most likely to suffer the most delays? LAX at +150 odds, followed closely by San Francisco International (SFO) at +175 odds. In the middle of the pack are Chicago O’Hare (ORD) at +200 and New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports at +250 and +350, respectively. Hawaii’s OGG and HNL airports fill out the bottom of the list at +500 and +600, respectively.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
