Thanksgiving travel looks to be even more painful this year; US airlines expect more fliers

If you're flying somewhere for Thanksgiving, expect planes and airports to be even more crowded this year.

U.S. airlines expect to carry 24.6 million passengers over the 12 days surrounding Thanksgiving, up 1.5 percent from last year.

The worst day: The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 30, with 2.6 million people flying on U.S. airlines.

The forecast comes from Airlines for America, a trade group representing the biggest U.S. carriers. It covers Friday, Nov. 21 through Tuesday, Dec. 2.

The group's chief economist said Thursday that rising personal incomes and job growth are helping boost demand for travel.

Last year, the airlines' Thanksgiving-travel forecast turned out to be too high. The trade group blamed bad weather that caused widespread flight cancelations.