One in three Americans plans to stay home for the holidays
Rising airfare costs and the end of Spirit Airlines are pushing many travelers to skip flights this year.
By Stella Brooks ·
Thirty-one percent of Americans plan to skip flights and hotels for the 2026 holiday season, according to the NerdWallet 2026 Holiday Travel Report. This represents a 22 percent jump in the number of people staying put compared to last year. The shift occurs while travel expenses remain high.
Airline ticket prices have risen by 23.4 percent over the past year, as shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index. Higher jet fuel costs, reduced flight capacity, and strong demand drive these increases. Sally French, a travel expert at NerdWallet, noted that consumers noticed these price hikes throughout the previous year.
The closure of Spirit Airlines this year complicated matters for budget-conscious travelers. French explained that the loss of a major low-cost carrier removed a competitive force from the market. This change has contributed to rising fares across other airlines, even for those who never flew with Spirit.
Other recent data supports this trend of staying home. A survey conducted by The Points Guy and YouGov found that 55 percent of respondents do not plan to travel for the 2026 holidays. For those who do plan to fly, high airfare remains their primary concern.
Among the 42 percent of Americans who intend to travel, the average spending on flights and hotels is projected to be $2,439. This amount is stable compared to 2025, when 45 percent of adults said they would travel. Parents with children under 18 are more likely to travel than non-parents, with 62 percent planning to spend money on lodging and airfare.
Parents are seeking ways to reduce costs despite their willingness to travel. Eighteen percent said they would accept less convenient routing options, such as late-night flights or poor connections, to save money. Only 8 percent of adults without children said they would make similar trade-offs. Additionally, 26 percent of parents plan to use credit card points for holiday travel, compared to 14 percent of non-parents.
