Travelers are paying roughly 20% more for gas, plane tickets this Labor Day weekend
MINNEAPOLIS -- Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, with millions of Americans taking one last vacation before temperatures drop.
"Spending time with family is joyful and I know my kids have great plans. Don't know what they all are but i know they'll be good," said Rebecca Costak, who was traveling from Minneapolis to Colorado. "Got kids there. Gonna have lots of fun, gonna party a little bit, gonna eat good food, gonna maybe dance in the street."
"My husband and I are going up to Alaska on a three-weeked moose hunt," said Tammy Miller of Marathon, Wisconsin. "I just turned 50 two weeks ago and this is my birthday present. I get a birthday moose."
More than 12.6 million passengers are expected to pass through the nation's airports between Thursday and Monday, according to data from Hopper, which tracks travel and deals.
American Airlines estimates 2.5 million customers will fly this Labor Day weekend on its 26,400 scheduled flights, with its busiest travel days expected to be Thursday and Friday. That's nearly 800 more flights than last year — but 3,600 fewer than 2019. Delta says it will carry between 2.8 million and 2.9 million passengers on more than 25,00 flights over the holiday travel period — more than the 2.5 million passengers who flew with the airline last year, but down from the 3.1 million in 2019. United said it anticipates 2.6 million customers, a 20% jump from last year but similar to 2019.
No matter how you travel this Labor Day weekend, odds are you'll be paying more.
According to data provided by AAA, the average lowest airfare is coming in at $179/ticket, an almost 20% increase over 2021. The average gallon of unleaded gasoline Friday was $3.809, up from $3.183 a year ago.
Something else that could add to the cost of your trip are delays and cancellations.
The US Department of Transportation has released a new airline customer service dashboard, where flyers can easily find an airline's policies if a problem comes up during their travel.
Travelers we spoke with say it's a great idea, but one that they hopefully won't need.
"I'm sure it's going to go smooth but the other thing is I'm really flexible. I'm retired so if I have to stay a day, that's no big deal," Costak said.
"We're going to find out how flexible we really are," Miller said with a laugh. "I'm hoping we don't have to be but if we are, we are."
