What are blackout dates?
Blackout dates are periods when an airline or hotel refuses to accept a particular fare, award or promotion, usually because demand is high enough to sell the seat at full price. They are most common around major holidays, school breaks and large events.
Blackout dates explained
The term comes from loyalty programmes, where it originally meant dates on which award seats simply were not released. Modern airlines have largely replaced hard blackouts with dynamic pricing, which achieves the same result more quietly: the seat is technically available but the number of miles required climbs to a level almost nobody will pay.
Blackouts still exist in their older form on promotional fares, corporate discount codes and companion certificates. If a promotion looks unusually generous, the restrictions are usually where the airline gets its margin back, and the excluded dates are almost always the ones a leisure traveler most wants.
The pattern is predictable enough to plan around. Thanksgiving week, the fortnight around Christmas and New Year, Easter and the American spring break weeks are blacked out most often. Add the local equivalents at your destination, since a European carrier will protect its own summer peak and an Asian one will protect the lunar new year.
The practical response is to treat blackouts as a scheduling problem rather than a pricing one. Moving a trip by three or four days either side of a holiday period frequently removes the restriction entirely, and on premium cabins that shift is worth considerably more than any amount of searching within the blocked window.
More on blackout dates
Less often in their original form. Most have moved to dynamic award pricing, where the seat remains bookable but the miles required rise steeply on peak dates. Promotional fares, corporate codes and companion certificates still carry true blackouts.
Thanksgiving week, the fortnight around Christmas and New Year, Easter and American spring break. Add the destination's own peak, since foreign carriers protect their local holidays rather than yours.
Move the trip three or four days either side of the holiday period. That shift usually removes the restriction completely and, on a premium cabin, saves more than any amount of searching inside the blocked window.
They overlap but are not identical. High season describes demand and affects the cash price; a blackout is a rule that refuses a specific fare or award outright regardless of what you are willing to pay.
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