How has the current economy affected your holiday travel plans?
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the 2012 Christmas travel season could be the busiest in six years. However, thanks to an unstable financial future most Americans won’t be taking to the skies to get to grandma’s house this year; rather, they will be hitting the road. AAA is predicting that 93.3 million Americans will hit the nation’s highways during the holidays. That’s 1.6 percent more than last year and just 400,000 people shy of the 2006 record, according to the auto club. AAA says a record 84.4 million people will drive at least 50 miles between December 22nd and January 1st. That’s 90.5 percent of holiday travelers, up from 89.3 percent six years ago.
In other words, one in four Americans will be driving long distances for Christmas and New Year’s, so expect plenty of company while you’re on the road. The jammed interstates crowded rest stops and long lines at toll booths that you will likely encounter next week are due in large part to the recent drop in gas prices. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gas is $3.23. That’s 50 cents less than what drivers were paying in September. AAA estimates the average price will range between $3.20 and $3.40 a gallon by New Year’s Day.
Meanwhile, most families who are taking to the skies during the holiday period will be paying an arm and a leg to do so. Airlines for America, the industry’s trade group, estimates that about 15 million people will fly between December 17th and January 6th. Those taking flight will be just as crammed as those on America’s roadways, as planes will be fuller than last Christmas. Many commercial carriers have reduced the number of flights offered in an effort to fill existing planes to capacity. Travel experts expect 86 percent of seats to be filled in the coming days, up from 85 percent last year.