Nov. 26, 2008
Tough Times For Thanksgiving Travel
Fewer Americans Taking Trips This Holiday Weekend (No Thanks To The Economy)
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Play CBS Video Video Holiday Travel Ups And Downs Airports are expecting a significant drop in holiday traffic while the roads may be busy since gas prices are low. Thalia Assuras and local affiliates report on current conditions.
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Video Thanksgiving Travel Declines With the struggling economy, Thanksgiving travel has declined for the first time since 2002. Whether by plane or by car, more Americans are opting to stay home. Sharyl Attkisson reports.
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A small number of travelers wait in line at an American Airlines counter at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport Wednesday Nov. 26, 2008. Despite plummeting gas prices and unusual last-minute holiday deals on airplane tickets, more people are expected to stick close to home this Thanksgiving. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
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Twin passengers Elodie Tam, left, and Taylor Tam, 2, hold their luggage as they prepare to fly out of San Francisco International Airport, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
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Section Travel Tips and trends to get you ready to go. Here's your vacation planning resource.
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Section America Gives Thanks Recipes, how to carve a turkey, an interactive map of events and more good stuff to gobble up.
Nationally, the Automobile Association of America says 41 million Americans were expected to travel more than 50 miles for the holiday, down about 1.5 percent, or 600,000 people, from last Thanksgiving. Of those, about 4.5 million are expected to fly, down about 7 percent from last year, while around 33.2 million will drive, a decrease of about 1 percent.
It is the first decrease in holiday travel nationally since 2002, and the largest since the Thanksgiving that followed the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
The reason, as a surly economist might say: It's the economy, stupid.
"The economy is in such bad shape. ... They're still really hesitant to take that trip," said Beth Mosher, spokeswoman for AAA Chicago.
But a 7 percent reduction is a relatively minor dip, so ...
"You're probably not going to notice," Amy Ziff, editor-at-large at Travelocity, told CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras, "because the airlines have cut capacity and there are still going to be a lot people on the roads and even more people taking trains and buses to get to their Thanksgiving destinations this year."
For airlines, the lowered fares at a time when they usually can mark them up can't combat the extra fees the struggling industry has tacked on to everything from checked baggage to pillows to in-flight food.
At Boston's Logan Airport, Alicia Kelly, her husband and two children were heading to Miami to spend the holiday with family. Kelly said there were no lines at Logan Airport Wednesday morning and that it was the lightest Thanksgiving travel she's ever seen.
Likewise, in Colorado, holiday travelers found short lines and brief waits at Denver International Airport as airlines ramped up for the Thanksgiving rush.
Airport officials in Denver expect about 20,000 fewer travelers this week than last year because of the worsening economy.
Security lines at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport were also short. Spokesman John Kennedy predicted their Thanksgiving travel numbers will go up slightly to 1.67 million from 1.65 million last Thanksgiving holiday.
Graeme Wallace, chief technical officer for farecompare.com, a consumer airline ticket research Web site, said it may take until after the first of the year before airlines know if the recent fare reductions will put many more people on planes. He said in his recent experience, business flights have been crowded but leisure flights are often half empty.
"With the economy tanking, they're thinking, 'Do I want to spend $400 for a 1,200 mile trip?"' Wallace said.
Even with fewer travelers, some of those who hit the road, or take to the skies, might have a rougher time getting back home, reports CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. The forecast does call for rain and snow to move in by Sunday, especially in the East, and bad weather almost automatically creates delays.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Add a Comment See all 31 Comments
- No doubt the economy is bad, but when stories like this one comes out, in my opinion, it feeds the downturn. The estimated figures on car and airline travel for Thanksgiving only show an unnoticeable small decrease.
- Reply to this comment
- Soon we will have airlines begging for a bailout.
Posted by kevinkkloste at 09:46 AM : Nov 26, 2008
Airlines don''''t beg, they demand. And don''''t forget, they''''re too big to fail. Always remember that.
Posted by DeckardBR at 12:10 AM : Nov 27, 2008
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President Bush already bailed out the airlines right after 9/11. He used the surplus left by Clinton to give them $15 billion. - Reply to this comment
- Airlines will be crying after the holidays. They''ll be asking for a bailout in January along with the retailers Some ticket prices dropped, but I''ll bet they go right back up again before Christmas.The airlines will be using their scare tactics of cutting flights and using smaller planes. It''s all a big scam, just to screw the consumer.
The stores are selling goods for way lower then the normal prices, so must be one heck of a mark up on them , because they sure aren''t selling them for cost. - Reply to this comment
- I will be traveling to my sisters house tomorrow. We will be taking our beloved Checker Aerobus and I will have my children singing Psalms throughout the trip to pass the time.
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Posted by Lady_Organs at 08:55 AM : Nov 26, 2008
I just found something else to be thankful for. I don''t have to be in a car stuck in a situation like this. - Reply to this comment
- Soon we will have airlines begging for a bailout.
Posted by kevinkkloste at 09:46 AM : Nov 26, 2008
Airlines don''t beg, they demand. And don''t forget, they''re too big to fail. Always remember that. - Reply to this comment
- It''s not only the economy; it''s just not fun to travel anymore. Between Airport Security and Airline greed the glamour of flying is gone. Pay to check baggage, pay for a pillow, pay for a soda, no meals, long lines, and stewards and stewardess'' with a bad attitude, who the hell wants to fly. On the road it similar, traffic jams caused by the government''s need to collect tolls every few miles, checkpoints and speed traps are set up on every holiday. They say for safety, but we all know that the fines are outrageous and are just another tax. Service Stations used to have service not self service. It''s just not fun to travel around any holiday
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- We are just like Japan in the 90''s.
Unfettered greed, speculation, and lack of oversight ruined their economy as well. Their stock market and economy crashed and burned and their central bank took interest rates down to zero, for years with no avail. Even after wholesale/retail prices fell and everything became affordable again the masses saved and didn''t spend money for a long time because they didn''t trust the government. - Reply to this comment
- Because people might start to feel good about the economy, and it''''s too early for that.
They having finished raping the middle class.
Fear,,Fear,,,fear...
Posted by slim1h2o at 01:14 PM : Nov 26, 2008
too, too true - Reply to this comment
- Hey morons, gas is $1.69 now!!!!
Why is this NOT news?
Posted by easeup at 01:05 PM : Nov 26, 2008
Because people might start to feel good about the economy, and it''s too early for that.
They having finished raping the middle class.
Fear,,Fear,,,fear... - Reply to this comment
- Hey morons, gas is $1.69 now!!!!
Why is this NOT news? - Reply to this comment
- I am going to stay home. Spend the day with my friend,with ye on the boards, I never travel at the holidays.
- Reply to this comment
- Must have been a copycat. Everyone wants to be me. :)
Posted by Lady_Organs at 12:27 PM : Nov 26, 2008
The great ones make it look so easy...... - Reply to this comment
- No you had a new one last week or so......unless there''''s a copycat angler.
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Posted by easeup
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Must have been a copycat. Everyone wants to be me. :) - Reply to this comment
- flying is more like taking the bus. Stuck in a can and shuttled like cattle. Just call your relatives and say hi. The TSA is just a bunch of ***, finally happy they can get paid to be cruel.
- Reply to this comment
- Posted by easeup
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Mrs_Premise is an old name.
Posted by Lady_Organs at 11:50 AM : Nov 26, 2008
No you had a new one last week or so......unless there''s a copycat angler. - Reply to this comment
- What happened to the other new name--peggy something or other?
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Posted by easeup
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Mrs_Premise is an old name. - Reply to this comment
- Lady_Organs, you are the type of demented twit who gives religion a bad name, thats if it ever had a good one.
- Reply to this comment
- LMAO. You have got to be the ever humorous GOP_Forever aka GOP_Will_Win.
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Posted by rixmix98
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Why yes. I bet it was the mention of the Checker Aerobus that tipped you off. :)
Posted by Lady_Organs at 09:30 AM : Nov 26, 2008
What happened to the other new name--peggy something or other? - Reply to this comment
- Lady_Organs were you born a male?
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Posted by rxzyu
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No and dont listen to that heathen troll. - Reply to this comment
- Why no articles about the low gas prices? I guess CBS can''t go against their agenda.
- Reply to this comment
