Originally Posted by
seminolepilot
It's not hard, I made it through the holiday season without any issues. I've always gotten a seat in the back on American and they even moved me up to First Class once. The only time I had to ride up front was on Delta. You'll quickly find out that DL overbooks just about every flight, either that or it's full of mainline employees and retirees. I would also choose DTW if you have family there. Save yourself the money on a Crashpad or Hotels.
Same experience here. I use AA as my #2 option through DFW when a nonstop doesn't work or just isn't convenient. I commuted up on New Year's Eve night and 5 of us nonrevs all got first class on AA.
The bad thing about holiday travel isn't the loads as much as the reduced schedule on the 24th/25th and 31st/1st. It's best to time it so either you work through the holidays and go to and from in between.
Actually I got spoiled in December as I ended up getting first class about 90% of the time between commuting and deadheads. Its generally quiet between Thanksgiving and around the 20th of December.