AAA: Nearly 47M Americans will travel for Thanksgiving
From USA Today Nov. 17, 2015:
If roads and airports seemed crowded last Thanksgiving, it’s time to pack a little more patience as hundreds of thousands more travelers head out for turkey and stuffing this year.
Gas is the cheapest since 2008, according to the AAA Travel forecast released Tuesday. Airline tickets are 10% lower than last year for 40 top routes, AAA said. And hotel rates are relatively flat.
Nearly 47 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for the holiday from next Wednesday through Sunday. Amid the trimmings, airlines are expecting to average 65,000 more passengers each day than last year around the holiday.
“Look around this Thanksgiving and you’ll see 300,000 more people boarding airplanes, hitting the road, filling cruise ships and riding trains and buses,” said Marshall Doney, CEO of AAA. “If you’re one of the more than 46 million Americans traveling this Thanksgiving, AAA urges you to be patient and to carve out plenty of time to arrive at your holiday destination safely.
The projection for 46.9 million travelers from Nov. 25 through Nov. 29 is based on economic forecasting and research by IHS Global Insight.
For the nearly 90 percent of travelers who will drive to their destinations there is good news: The national average gas price per gallon is $2.15, which is 65 cents less than last year, according to AAA.
“One holiday gift has come early this year,” Doney said.
The spotlight on holiday driving led to warnings about avoiding drunken drivers. About 1,000 people died in drunken driving crashes during the holiday season last year, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures reviewed by the advocacy group Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility.
About 63 percent of Americans couldn't identify the legal drinking limit as 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content, according to a national survey released Tuesday and conducted in September for Responsibility.org by Toluna Global Omnibus.
Steven Casstevens, vice president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said it was "a frightening statistic” that fewer than four drivers out of 10 were aware of the legal alcohol limit. That’s before factoring in differences for the driver’s size, how many drinks were consumed before driving and whether the person has a full or empty stomach.
“Really what it boils down to: Plan on alternative transportation,” he said. “There are plenty of taxicabs and limos and Uber out there. Find a friend. Get a designated driver.”
Details of the AAA travel forecast include:
- Nearly 42 million Americans will take a road trip for the holiday. Motorists are saving $265 million per day from lower gas prices, according to AAA. Car-rental rates average $60 a day, which is 8 percent higher than last year, according to AAA.
- Hotel rates are relatively flat at $155 per night at AAA Three Diamond Rated lodgings and $118 per night for Two Diamond Rated hotels.
- Airfares are projected to be 10 percent lower than last year, for an average $169 round trip for 40 top domestic routes, according to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index.
The AAA figures echoed from the airlines projected earlier this month: It is the most passengers expected since the economic downturn of 2008. Airlines expect to carry 25.3 million passengers from Nov. 20 through Dec. 1, according to the industry group Airlines for America.
The heaviest travel days will be Sunday, Nov. 29; Monday, Nov. 30; and Wednesday, Nov. 25. The number of daily passengers during the holiday period will range from 1.4 million to 2.7 million.
Published 11-25-15