Millions Join the Annual Holiday Migration
It's that time again to join the madding crowd, and endure the long security lines in that annual ritual of going home for Thanksgiving.
About 39 million domestic travelers are expected to go somewhere this holiday, that number inching up only slightly from last year, by about 1.4 percent overall, according to an AAA prediction based on a survey of 1,300 households.
But while the number of travelers by automobile is expected to increase 2.1% this year over last (to 33.2 million) and the number of people traveling by train, bus, watercraft or "other" is also expected to be up slightly (1.2%, to 2.9 million), the number of air travelers will be down 6.7% (2.3 million this year compared to 2.5 million in 2008).
Savvy traveler Rashad Hall managed to avoid new airline prime time travel fees by buying his airline ticket months ago.
"You have to get your ticket early and buy them online, for sure," he said.
Fewer are flying this Thanksgiving, said CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers, as Americans are struggling to afford plane tickets with recession-reduced budgets.
Even so, ticket purveyor Orbitz says expect to see lots of folks show up at the airport the same time you do.
"Traveling that day before Thanksgiving, you really have to be prepared for the worst," said Orbitz expert Jeannene Tornatore.
Barb Petersen and her clan got smart and booked back early.
"We're flying back Saturday also, instead of Sunday to avoid crowds," she said.
And for those of you afraid of traditional Thanksgiving family squabbles and want to get away, there's still time: We're told package deals to Vegas are down 10% this year.
Flights to Puerta Vallerta, Cancun, and even Aruba are down 20%. Muy caliente!
Riding the Rails
The Miles family is changing it up this year in the annual American race to make it to the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead of booking plane tickets, they opted to take the 1,100-mile trip by train.
Airline tickets seemed too pricey, so they paid $800 for the five of them to travel roundtrip by train from their Syracuse, N.Y., home to Omaha, Neb. to see family. Airfare would have totaled more than $2,500, the family said.
"Economic considerations topped the list for us," Maureen Miles, 44, a doctor's office receptionist, said sitting with her husband and three kids at a crowded Union Station in Chicago before their train departed Tuesday afternoon.
"If the price was right, we would have considered flying," she said.
With economic pressures still hitting household budgets hard, many Americans are forgoing air travel for the Thanksgiving holiday and opting for cheaper alternatives. Others are staying home completely - partly to avoid traffic and airport lines, partly to save a buck.
Traveling for Thanksgiving at any cost was too much for Julie Bennink, 26, who works in public relations in Chicago. Unexpected medical and other bills meant she couldn't afford paying what would have been at least $400 for a rental car and gas to drive the three hours to Grand Rapids, Mich., for Thanksgiving dinner with her family.
"My mom was not really thrilled with me when I told her," Bennink said.
Her "Plan B" for Thanksgiving was to take a 15-minute city bus ride to a friend's house and bring a cornbread casserole.
Most people have calculated that travel by car often makes the most financial sense, said Alan Pisarski, a leading transportation analyst.
That was how travelers who stopped at a service plaza along Florida's Turnpike to stretch their legs under palm trees saw it.
Sarah Vaughan of Key West stopped at the rest area with her fiance and their three dogs, including their handicapped Rottweiler named Chief, on their way to Ocala to visit family. Flying wasn't an option.
"I haven't flown since 1998," she said. "No money, no time. When you live and work in paradise, you're short on both of those things."
(Left: Thanksgiving travelers pass though the baggage claim in Terminal 3 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Nov. 24, 2009.)
Carriers had been counting on holiday travelers more than usual because travel has been so weak the rest of the year, said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Hunter Keay.
But the drop in air travelers doesn't mean more legroom aloft. Carriers have cut the number of aircraft in service, ensuring full planes. And with extra fees to check baggage on most carriers, many travelers are likely to bring as much as they can on board. So add battles for overhead compartment space to the list of potential aggravations.
Some travelers were lured to fly at the last minute by airline bargains. Danny Cruz, 30, a bookstore employee from Atlanta, was facing a holiday apart from her mom who lives in Orlando because airfares were too high. But they took to the Internet and scored a last-minute deal - from airlines scrambling to sell open seats.
"Suddenly one day it went from almost $400 to almost half the price," Cruz said.
So far, air travelers found quick lines and little aggravation. The world's busiest airport, Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, is bracing for a rush of 1.7 million holiday travelers - in line with the holiday period last year, its general manager, Ben DeCosta, said.
Matthew Paulk, a student from New York City, said he anticipated the worst before he arrived at the Atlanta airport.
"I expected it to be hectic - people losing their bags, tripping, dropping stuff, arguments," he said. "But it was really good. It wasn't what I expected."
Maureen Miles said her family may not be among those switching back to planes once the economy starts improving - and not only because travel by train is easier on their pocketbook. Her kids, she said, have enjoyed the chance to get a good look at America beyond New York at a train's pace.
"Money aside," she said, "traveling by train is an adventure."