Flight cancellations have travelers around Tri-State Area looking for alternatives
Flight cancellations amid the ongoing government shutdown have some New York City-area travelers hitting the road to find alternatives.
AAA says it's not too early to start making backup plans for Thanksgiving.
Bus companies see bookings spike
In Midtown Manhattan Friday, travelers who otherwise would've flown filled Flix buses.
"It's my first time taking the bus. We'll see how it goes," passenger Dominique Zavala said.
Zavala made an impromptu switch from plane to bus for her work trip in Boston after colleagues who flew ahead warned of delays.
"Some took 18 hours with multiple layovers and had to stay up overnight and just arrived this morning. We were supposed to get there yesterday, so changed plans got a last minute bus and I'll get there in four hours," Zavala said.
Flix North America, the parent company for Flix and Greyhound buses, says bookings in the Northeast are up about 10% compared to this time last year.
"It's quite an increase for us. We are ready to accommodate that increase, and we expect that that may go up as well in the coming days and weeks," CEO Kai Boysan said.
Trains, planes and automobiles
Some car rental companies are also seeing an increase. Hertz, for example, says it has had a 20% surge in reservations for one-way bookings through the weekend.
At Moynihan Train Hall, traveler Rob Russell said he got a full refund for his flight home and opted to take Amtrak instead.
"I canceled my United flight this morning because I didn't want to get to the airport, get delayed or canceled. So I figured I'd just take the train back to DC," Russell said.
Jill Land is debating doing the same for her Thanksgiving cruise, which sets sail from Miami next week.
"I paid more than $4,000 for this cruise and I don't want to miss it because of the government," Land said.
AAA says fliers may want to start brainstorming a backup plan for Thanksgiving in case the government shutdown persists through the holidays.
"If you have an option to take another form of transit, like a train, or even want to think about doing a road trip, those are things that travelers may want to consider," Jillian Young of AAA Northeast said.
AAA also suggests fliers leave the weekend before Thanksgiving instead of the day before.
