Holiday traffic forecast to decline slightly
About 41 million Americans expected on roads or in the air
Travel is on the menu for area residents this Thanksgiving holiday, but the portions will be smaller.
The nation’s rocky economy is expected to reduce holiday travelers by 1.4 percent, the first year-over-year decline in six years.
About 41 million Americans are expected to take to the highway or head to the airport over the next six days, according to the AAA. That compares with 41.6 million who flew, drove or bused to their turkey day destinations last November.
But Buffalo resident David Fletcher is ignoring the negative travel forecast.
“Tradition trumps the economy,” said Fletcher, who is headed to his hometown of Philadelphia for an annual family Thanksgiving gathering.
Fletcher, who was filling up his SUV at an Elmwood Avenue Mobil station Tuesday morning before beginning the drive, said recent drops in the price of gasoline are a pleasant surprise.
“We would have gone no matter how expensive gas was, but now that it’s back under $2.50 a gallon, I’m not even thinking about what it will cost to make the drive,” he said.
As of Tuesday, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline had fallen to $1.89, which is $1.20 below last Thanksgiving’s average price.
The New York State average stood at $2.27, down from $3.28 a year ago, and the local price, which continues to rank among the highest in the country, was $2.40, down from $3.28 last November.
Steadily falling fuel prices might cause some hesitant travelers to make a last-minute decision to hit the road, said Wally Smith, vice president of AAA of Western and Central New York.
“Thanksgiving is predominantly a driving holiday, so people are used to hopping in the car,” Smith said. “Lower gas prices will certainly make travel more affordable, so the numbers could come up bit.”
Nationwide, 33.2 million people — 81 percent of all holiday travelers — will do so by car, mini-van, truck or SUV. If the numbers hold, that will be a 1.2 percent dip from Thanksgiving 2007.
The troubled economy also is expected to soften Thanksgiving air travel, with both consumers and airlines reducing their miles. About 4.5 million Americans are expected to fly, down 7.2 percent from last November.
Despite the expected drop, the line for the security checkpoint at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga was starting to build by midmorning Tuesday. Brett O’Neill, spokesman for the federal Transportation Security Administration’s Buffalo office, said all six lanes of the airport checkpoint will be open.
“We check with the airlines regarding their load capacities and staff accordingly,” O’Neill said. “We’ve handled some very big days out here, so we’re ready.”
The Buffalo airport, like its counterparts around the country, has designated one of its security lanes — on the far right — as a “family lane.” TSA agents will be diverting families with small children, inexperienced travelers and others with special screening needs there to keep passengers flowing through the checkpoint.
Travelers with medical conditions and other circumstances that require them to carry more than three ounces of liquids or gels in their carry-on items, also are asked to use that screening lane.
The TSA also is reminding travelers that pies don’t fly when it comes to the screening process.
“Pie fillings are considered a gel, so they can’t be taken onboard the aircraft,” O’Neill said. “It’s not worth the time and effort to bake a pumpkin pie, only to have to leave it behind at the airport.”
Fliers should brace themselves for crowded planes, despite the expected drop in passenger counts, because of reduced flight schedules. Domestic airlines have cut capacity by 9 percent since last Thanksgiving.
While capacity at the Buffalo airport is on par with last November, Buffalo travelers will find tight quarters on connecting flights. The American Transport Authority forecasts planes will be 90 percent full today, as well as on Sunday and Monday.
Airlines that have made the largest fourth quarter cutbacks include: Delta Airlines (16 percent), United Airlines (15.5 percent), American Airlines (12.5 percent), and Continental Airlines (9 percent). All four carriers serve the Buffalo market.
