Fewer Will Travel for Thanksgiving: AAA

Gas, airfare up 20% from a year ago

(NEWSER) - Tens of millions of Americans are now on the move for Thanksgiving, but the soaring cost of travel is keeping many others at home. Some 42.5 million Americans are expected to drive, fly, or ride trains over the holiday, and gas prices are up almost 20% from last year, according to AAA, as is the cost of a round-trip plane ticket on the top 40 US routes. Most Amtrak fares are also up from a year ago, but only by 2% to 5%. More»

Orbitz issues its annual ranking

(NEWSER) - The City of Angels is expected to have quite the hellish airport this Thanksgiving holiday. According to an annual ranking by Orbitz, LAX will top Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as the nation's busiest this holiday weekend, from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27. Filling out the top five (in order) are Orlando International, San Francisco International, and Boston's Logan International airports. Orbitz calculates its ranking by adding up tickets sales for the country's 50 major airports, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

With demand lower, airlines are offering fewer seats

(NEWSER) - The good news for Thanksgiving travelers is that fewer people are expected to fly this year. The bad news is that your plane is still going to be jam-packed. An industry trade group predicts that 23.2 million people will fly in the 12 days around Thanksgiving, reports CNN . (The holiday period is defined as the 18th to the 29th.) That's down 2% from last year and amounts to about 37,000 fewer fliers per day. More»

It's not as busy as you think

(NEWSER) - If you’re traveling this Thanksgiving, you’re likely bracing yourself for major delays on the road, rails, or in the sky. But take courage: your worries may be unfounded—or at least exaggerated. NPR provides some turkey-related travel myths:

1. It’s the busiest time of year to travel. “Actually, the summertime is worse. There are about five to 10 days during the summer that are busier than Thanksgiving,” says a spokesman from AAA.

Republicans vow to stall; Reid targets Christmas Eve health care vote

(NEWSER) - Even as Harry Reid plans for a Christmas Eve vote on the Senate health care bill, Republicans are vowing to stall, and a massive winter storm is roaring northeast from the Gulf of Mexico with Washington directly in its path. " It is our intention not to pass this bill easily," minority leader Mitch McConnell tells Reuters . "I think we made it pretty clear ." More»