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Historically, some airports and airlines have been plagued by issues such as flight delays, cancellations and higher airfare during the holiday season, providing a worse experience for consumers.
In a new study, Forbes Advisor analyzed federal transportation data for the months of November through January to determine which airports and airlines are the worst for holiday travel.
They found that Syracuse Hancock International Airport ranks no. 11 among the worst airports for holiday travel.
With travel now nearing pre-pandemic levels, travelers who will be visiting family or vacationing this holiday season face potential flight delays, cancellations and airfare prices that are up 40 percent from 2021.
Late-arriving flights
Forbes Advisor compared the 100 busiest airports across 10 key metrics from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and found that 5.78 percent of incoming flights arrived late at Syracuse Hancock International Airport. The average holiday season airfare charged at Hancock was relatively high, at $407.42.
The absolute worst airport, according to the study, is Westchester County Airport in White Plains: This airport had the highest rate of air carrier delays (8.54 percent) and diverted flights (0.80 percent) among the 100 busiest airports.
Second worst is Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Alaska. The Anchorage facility ranks highest for both average airfare price between October and December ($531.87) and average dollar increase in airfare between the summer months and the holiday season ($77.45).
Vintage gingerbread
Liverpool’s Village Museum conducted a Taste of Gingerbread contest as part of its holiday open house on Dec. 8, at the Gleason Mansion.
Visitors were asked to taste a piece of Mrs. Raymond Kinney’s Great Grandmother’s Gingerbread recipe which was more than 100 years old in 1964 when printed in the Community Cookery cookbook from the women of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church. The tasters compared the vintage recipe to the taste of gingerbread made from Betty Crocker Gingerbread mix on today’s grocery shelf.
Working on the project were Cindy Hibbert of the Liverpool Public Library, and from the Village Museum, Terri-Lee Bixby and Joan Cregg.
The gingerbread contest was won by Mrs. Kinney’s scratch gingerbread recipe, which was favored by 15 of the 20 tasters.
“We at the Village Museum enjoyed this contest,” said Joan Cregg. “It provided a new focus amongst the village exhibits. So we’ve begun to plan another contest for next year.”
Wishing you a cool yule
Much like Santa Claus himself, Louis Armstrong devoted his life to “the cause of happiness,” as he once put it. He brought joy to audiences around the globe every time he put his trumpet to his lips or crooned with his instantly recognizable gravelly voice. Yet, while Satchmo’s holiday recordings have become standard yuletide fare, he never released a Christmas album during his lifetime.
Now, for the very first time, “Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule” presents Armstrong’s holiday recordings as a cohesive body of work; louisarmstrong.lnk.to/LouisXmas.
The disc features nearly all of Armstrong’s holiday output: six Decca singles from the ’50s, including “Cool Yule,” “Christmas Night in Harlem,” and the swinging “‘Zat You Santa Claus?” The 11-track album also features duets with two of Pops’ favorite vocal partners, Velma Middleton (“Baby, It’s Cold Outside”) and Ella Fitzgerald (“I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”).
Rounding out the collection is the artist’s signature hit, “What a Wonderful World,” and a previously unreleased recitation of Samuel Clement Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” popularly known as “The Night Before Christmas.” Paired with newly recorded music by New Orleans pianist Sullivan Fortner, the poignant recording marks the first new Louis Armstrong track in more than 20 years and is notable for being the last recording he ever made.
Last word
“Christmas and Louis Armstrong would seem to be made for one another. Yet the American trumpeter and singer had a bittersweet relationship with the season. He didn’t celebrate it during childhood because he had to work. He was 40 when he got his first Christmas tree and was so enchanted with it, he took it on tour.”
– Chris Pearson, The Times of London
