Thanksgiving Travel to Increase

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.

Few delays reported on roads, airports at start of Thanksgiving rush

(AP) - Travelers breezed through airport terminals and drivers cruised open roads today, the effects of a sour economy blamed for keeping people closer to home at the start of the annual Thanksgiving rush. Even though gas prices fell and airlines offered last-minute deals, many Americans appeared to be skipping trips this year. More»