MEG OLIVER:
00:00:00
We begin with this morning's top story, the start of the summer travel season with tens of millions of Americans getting away this Memorial Day weekend. According to AAA, more than 39 million Americans will be on the roads this weekend. That's a record high but just a slight uptick from last year. That could be because of the surging price of gas. This morning, the average price of a gallon of regular is $4.53. Compare that to one year ago when that same amount of gas cost just $3.20. That's an increase of 42%. Jarred Hill has more on the holiday travel rush.
JARRED HILL:
00:00:37
Packed roads on the unofficial kickoff to summer, with more than 39 million Americans expected to drive this Memorial Day weekend. Going to do a little camping, a little hiking.
JARRED HILL:
00:00:48
But it's the price at the pump that has some sweating. It shouldn't be $83 to fill your tank.
JARRED HILL:
00:00:55
A gallon of regular is about 40% more expensive than this time last year, amid the war with Iran. Average price this summer could rise to $4.80 a gallon nationally. That would be the priciest summer ever.
JARRED HILL:
00:01:06
Airfare is also soaring. A round-trip domestic flight up about 30%, but the chief operating officer for American Airlines says people are still looking to fly. Our forward-looking demand is still looking really good through the summer. We haven't seen any tapering off of that demand.
JARRED HILL:
00:01:23
At the airport in Dallas, lines snaked past the security checkpoint. The TSA is expected to screen more than 18 million passengers nationwide this weekend. Surprisingly, not as busy as I thought it would be. That's why we came a little earlier.
JARRED HILL:
00:01:37
AAA says about 2.2 million people will travel some other way, by bus, boat, or rail. It's the greatest amount of growth over both flying or driving this weekend. Amtrak passengers say gas prices played a role. Cost me $60 to fill the tank. I need two tanks to come down here, park, two tanks to go back up, park. So it's far more expensive than a train ticket. It just felt more economical with gas prices and everything. Kind of just became train seemed to be the more logical option. All right, and that was Jarred Hill reporting.
