Q. I’m taking my family to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving. What should I expect this year when I get to the airport?

A. Just because demand for air travel is down this fall, don’t expect to see any empty seats on flights around Thanksgiving. The Air Transport Association – the trade group for U.S. airlines – notes that its members have cut capacity enough that flights will still be extremely full in the second half of November. The ATA said that based on sample data from its member airlines, it expects the busiest days for air travel will be November 30 (Sunday), December 1 (Monday) and November 26 (Wednesday), with planes on those days running at 90 percent full or more. “The airports will be busy and many fights will be 100 percent full,” said ATA CEO James May. On the plus side, travelers might face an improved situation at the airport security checks – the Transportation Security Administration said that by the time the Thanksgiving travel binge kicks in, it will have set up its new self-selected security lane options at “every security checkpoint in America.” Previously, the self-select lanes were at 48 major airports. The system gives family travelers the option of choosing a family lane where they can get special assistance in going through security. That clears up the other lanes – blue lanes for casual travelers and “black diamond” lanes for experienced travelers – so passengers can get through the process more quickly.