AIRLINES BRACE FOR ONSLAUGHT OF HOLIDAY TRAVEL

Airlines are shifting the timing of thousands of flights and adding dozens of redeyes as they try to avoid delays while hauling millions of passengers through the Christmas weekend.

Success or failure could all depend on the weather. Mother Nature didn’t make it easy on airlines as the long weekend kicked off Wednesday with storms in many parts of the country.

Airlines expect about 38 million passengers over a 17-day period spanning Christmas and New Year's, an increase of about 3 percent, according to an industry trade group, Airlines for America. The group says the average flight could be 90 percent full.

Crowds like that mean that any hiccup in the system — delays at a major airport, a technology glitch — can ripple across the country and leave tens of thousands of passengers standing in airport lines.