Early-morning flights are least likely to be delayed

• More than 360,000 flights expected during Thanksgiving week, with Tuesday being the worst day for delays

• Peak travel day on November 25 will see over 52,000 flights competing for limited airspace

• Smart planning and flexible booking can help you avoid the worst crowds and potential cancellations

If you're flying for Thanksgiving this year, brace yourself. The Federal Aviation Administration just announced this holiday travel period will be the busiest in 15 years, and that spells trouble for anyone hoping for smooth flights.

The perfect storm brewing in our skies

In an announcement on Friday, November 21, the FAA revealed they're preparing to handle more than 360,000 flights during the Thanksgiving travel period. That's an enormous number of planes competing for the same airspace, runways, and gate space.

The worst day will be Tuesday, November 25, when over 52,000 flights are expected to crisscross the country. To put that in perspective, that's more than one flight taking off every two seconds throughout the entire day.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford acknowledged the challenge ahead, praising air traffic controllers who will be working overtime to manage what he called "record-high traffic."

Why this affects your wallet and sanity

More flights don't just mean crowded airports they mean higher prices, longer delays, and increased chances your flight gets cancelled altogether. When demand spikes like this, airlines know they can charge premium prices because you have fewer alternatives.

The ripple effects hit hard too. One delayed flight can cascade into dozens of others, potentially stranding you in an airport for hours or even overnight. That means unexpected hotel costs, meal expenses, and the stress of missing family gatherings.

Your action plan to beat the chaos

Don't let airline chaos ruin your holiday. Here's how to protect yourself:

1. Book the earliest flight possible on your travel day delays compound throughout the day, so morning flights have the best shot at leaving on time

2. Avoid Tuesday, November 25 entirely if you can choose Monday or Wednesday instead, even if it costs slightly more

3. Download your airline's app and enable push notifications for real-time updates about gate changes and delays

4. Pack essentials in your carry-on, including medications, phone chargers, and a change of clothes in case your checked bag gets lost

5. Arrive at the airport at least 2 hours early for domestic flights, 3 hours for international security lines will be brutal

6. Consider travel insurance that covers flight delays and cancellations, especially if you're booking expensive tickets

7. Have backup plans ready, including alternative flights or even driving routes if your flight gets cancelled

The FAA has also launched a new civility campaign, reminding passengers to be patient and kind. While that's nice advice, your best defense is being prepared for the worst-case scenario.

The bottom line: This Thanksgiving's record-breaking flight volume is a recipe for delays, cancellations, and sky-high prices. Your best strategy is to fly early in the day, avoid the peak travel day of November 25, and have backup plans ready. The airlines are counting on your desperation to see family don't let them profit from poor planning on your part.

Technical issues delayed certain community care copayments, creating a massive debt pile

• The Department of Veterans Affairs is forgiving over $272 million in backlogged medical copayments that veterans unknowingly accumulated

• Technical issues starting in February 2023 caused the VA to stop processing certain community care copayments, creating a massive debt pile

• Veterans can now access their benefits without fear of surprise bills from the processing pause period

If you're a veteran who received community care services since early 2023, you just got some major financial relief. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced this week it's wiping out more than $272 million in potential medical bills that piled up due to government processing failures.

What happened with veteran medical bills

Starting in February 2023, the VA stopped processing copayments for community care services due to technical problems with their Program Integrity Tool (PIT). This system is supposed to manage claims data and ensure accurate billing.

For nearly two years, veterans continued receiving care without knowing they were accumulating potential debt. The bills just kept piling up in the background while the government's payment system remained broken.

The VA resumed normal billing on November 11, 2025, but decided to forgive the entire backlog rather than hit veterans with surprise bills.

How this affects you as a veteran

If you received community care services between February 2023 and November 2025, you may have been impacted by this billing pause. The good news is you won't be responsible for any copayments that should have been collected during this period.

Veterans who were worried about potential medical debt can now breathe easier knowing these bills have been permanently forgiven.

Your action plan

1. Check your VA account online to confirm you're not being billed for community care services from the affected period

2. Contact the VA through Ask VA online if you have questions about your specific situation or received any confusing billing statements

3. Keep records of all community care services you received during this timeframe in case any billing issues arise

4. Stay informed about your current copayment responsibilities now that normal billing has resumed

5. Use the VA's chatbot or call 1-800-698-2411 if you need clarification about your benefits

The bottom line: This debt forgiveness removes a major financial burden from hundreds of thousands of veterans who were caught in a government processing failure through no fault of their own. While it's good news for those affected, make sure you understand your current copayment responsibilities going forward to avoid future billing surprises.

Smaller sandwiches, bigger bill: Paneras math problem

• Paneras quiet shrinkflation (smaller portions, cheaper salads, less service) drove customers away and hurt sales

• The new Panera RISE plan promises bigger, better portions, improved ingredients, and more staff in cafes

• If Panera delivers on their promises, you should see fuller salads and sandwiches, less DIY prep, and clearer cheap vs. splurge options

For years, Panera Bread sold itself as the feel-good fast-casual option: warm bread, big salads, clean ingredients and a place you could camp with a laptop. But quietly, something else was happening. Portions got smaller. Salads got cheaper to make. Labor was cut. And customers noticed.

Now Panera is in full damage-control mode, rolling out a new turnaround plan called Panera RISE to reverse years of traffic declines and a 5% sales drop in 2024 that pushed it from the No. 1 fast-casual chain down to No. 3, behind Chipotle and Panda Express.

How Panera shrinkflated its menu

Shrinkflation is when you quietly give customers less while charging the same (or more).

Panera checked several of these boxes:

Smaller sandwiches at higher prices. In some cases, Panera raised prices and shrunk portions while downgrading ingredients. This was seen as a triple whammy for guests who walked in expecting a premium sandwich and got a lighter, less satisfying version instead.

Salads built to save money, not impress. In the summer of 2024, Panera swapped its all-romaine salad base for a cheaper half-romaine, half-iceberg mix. When all of the sudden you see white iceberg lettuce in your salad, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

And guess what? Customers noticed and told the chain exactly what they thought: iceberg looks pale and unappetizing, and the salads felt very skimpy for the price. Panera listened has now reversed course and gone back to romaine-only salads.

Labor-saving shortcuts that felt like DIY. To save prep time, Panera stopped slicing cherry tomatoes and avocados. Guests had to chase whole cherry tomatoes around their bowl and saw a halved avocado plopped in the salad that they had to cut themselves. Panera now says it will start slicing both again in 2026.

Service shrinkflation, too. Like many chains, Panera cut back on front-of-house staff and leaned hard on self-order kiosks. That might look efficient on a spreadsheet, but it meant guests often walked into a caf and couldnt find a single employee to ask for help.

On top of that, Panera is in the middle of a controversial shift away from its longtime fresh dough model. The company is closing all of its fresh-dough facilities and moving to a par-baked bread system, where dough is prepared and partially baked by third-party bakeries, then frozen and shipped to stores to be finished.

Panera insists the bread will be just as good, but the perception is simple for many:theyre charging more while the product feels less special.

What Panera RISE is trying to fix

The new Panera RISE strategy is basically an admission that the shrinkflation era went too far. The plan rests on threepillars:

• Refreshing the menu higher-quality ingredients; salads rebuilt with better greens and more goodies; new drinks to compete with Starbucks-style beverages.
• Igniting value a barbell menu with cheaper options for budget-conscious appetites alongside higher-end items, instead of everything hovering at a painful mid-teens price point.
• Serving guests with excellence reinvesting in front-of-house labor, updating decade-old kiosks, and making sure there are actual humans visible in the caf again.

In plain English, Panera is promising bigger, better portions, better service, and more value overall.

What this means for you, the customer

If Panera follows through, regulars should start to notice the following:

• Salads that look and feel more substantial (and less pale).
• Sandwiches that stop feeling like they were put on a diet.
• Fewer do it yourself prep moments. Your tomatoes and avocados should arrive ready to eat.
• More visible staff and less hunting for a human behind a row of kiosks.
• A clearer split between budget-friendly options and splurge items so you can decide if Panera fits your wallet that day.

But the bigger lesson here is about shrinkflation in general. Panera tried to protect margins by shaving off a little here, a little there. On paper, that seemed smart and efficient. In real life, customers felt the smaller portions and downgraded ingredients. So many stopped trusting the value, and quietly took their money elsewhere.

Why FAA staffing cuts and AI travel agents are changing how you planand protectyour next trip

• FAA staffing cuts and government disruptions may lead to delaysand open the door to more travel targeting stressed flyers.

• AI is being used by both legitimate travel services and scammers, making it critical for travelers to verify messages, calls, and customer service contacts before acting.

• Travelers should adopt a zero-trust mindset, use credit cards for stronger protection, avoid unfamiliar payment methods, and go directly to airline or hotel sites to confirm alerts.

Holiday travel has always come with a little stress, but this year, many travelers are facing a new set of challenges before they even get to the airport.

With news of significant layoffs at the FAA and the rapid rise of AI-powered travel agent tools, the landscape of booking, confirming, and navigating trips looks different than ever. And while the season is still expected to be busy, experts say being informed and prepared can make the difference between a smooth holiday journey and an unexpected headache.

ConsumerAffairs interviewed Clayton LiaBraaten, Senior Executive Industry Expert at Truecaller, to learn more about the importance of going into holiday travel with a little extra awareness and preparation.

The impact of the government shutdown

While the government shutdown has technically ended, travelers are likely to feel the effects throughout the holiday season.

Beyond the expected logistical delays, we are facing a reduced capacity for enforcing consumer protection, which emboldens scammers, LiaBraaten explained. Bad actors know that regulatory bodies are stretched thin, and they will exploit the chaos of delayed flights and staffing shortages.

You can expect a surge in texts and calls claiming that your flight is canceled or your booking has failed, designed to panic you and prompt you to click on malicious links. Scammers thrive on this confusion, using the noise of travel disruption to slip past your defenses.

Know how to ID a scam

For those planning travel this holiday season, LiaBraaten says its crucial to be able to separate critical travel updates from fraud.

Because scammers are now using AI to mimic legitimate companies, you need a platform that uses AI to fight back one that can distinguish a legitimate call from a scam. This ensures that the traveler takes the calls that matter, such as a legitimate update from an airline or hotel concierge, while the software blocks AI-driven fraud attempts that try to steal your credit card number.

Additionally, never rely on a Google search for customer support numbers, as scammers often purchase high-ranking ads with fake numbers to spoof unsuspecting consumers.

Travel insurance?

With busy, crowded airports, is travel insurance worth it this holiday season? LiaBraaten says yes.

Financial travel insurance is vital, but your payment method is your first layer of protection; credit cards offer far superior fraud protection than debit cards and often include insurance that makes you eligible for fraud-related refunds.

Adopting a zero-trust mindset

To have the safest trip possible, LiaBraaten encourages travelers to adopt a "zero trust" mindset regarding unsolicited communication.

Scammers are leveraging AI-powered phishing emails and fake listings that look indistinguishable from the real thing, he explained. We need to fight AI with AI. Fraudsters have weaponized AI to create convincing deepfakes and scripts.

With payment methods, fraudsters will deploy pressure tactics. Never wire money or use gift cards, Zelle, Venmo, or crypto for a travel booking if it wasn't the initial method used; these are favorite tools of scammers because the funds are hard to recover.

Lastly, if you encounter a too-good-to-be-true deal or receive an urgent alert, do not click the link. Type the airline or hotel URL directly into your browser to verify the status.