Holiday Travelers Pumped
Lower Gas Prices Push Economic Worries Aside

By Eric M. Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Despite all of the doom and gloom over the economy, people in the Washington area are still planning to travel long distances for dry turkey and the warm embrace of family.

Travel experts say the dramatic fall in gas prices -- down from an average of $4.11 a gallon in July to $1.91 today -- is likely to salvage a holiday travel season that had been predicted to be one of the worst in memory.

The number of Americans traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday will dip only slightly, despite worries over the faltering economy, according to AAA-Mid Atlantic, a situation that was unexpected just a few months ago when gas and airline ticket prices were sky-high.

"But the lowest gas prices in four years -- a price we thought we'd never see again in our lifetimes -- is still not enough to see an increase," said John Townsend, a spokesman for the auto club. "The overall economy trumps everything. It's taken the lifeblood out of everybody."

Still, family is family. Townsend said he wouldn't be surprised if heartstrings and low prices at the pumps persuade some folks to hit the road at the last minute.

AAA expects a 16 percent increase in holiday travel by train or bus, however, perhaps a result of early planning based on expectations of high fuel prices.

Airline tickets are still selling at a premium, and AAA expects a decrease in air travel compared with past years, along with fewer and more crowded flights. But some experts are even doubting that prediction, as some bargains have emerged recently because of a reduction in jet fuel prices.

Although airfares still are generally high, "prices have come down in past weeks on holiday airfares," said Amanda Hoffman, spokeswoman for Expedia.com, a travel Web site. "We expect 32 million Americans are ready to travel during the holiday season, on par with seasons past."

"Consumers this year are more flexible and motivated by price rather than schedule," said Hoffman, who flew home to Houston for an early Thanksgiving last weekend to take advantage of prices that were half of this week's.

For some, though, economic conditions will be felt around the holiday table.

Two years ago, Brenda Philpot hosted a Thanksgiving feast for 30 in her Prince George's County home. Friends and family flew in from South Carolina and drove down from Baltimore. This year, it will be a smaller affair, with immediate family and close friends.

"People don't have any money," she said.

Atwood Newton's family will be staying put in Capitol Heights. For past holidays, there have been giant family get-togethers in South Carolina or New York during Thanksgiving. He doesn't know if it is because of the economy or gas prices, but no one really planned anything this year.

For him, this year will be his family, his three grandchildren and "some stragglers who will come over, watch the games and grab a plate," he said. "I'm actually looking forward to it."

AAA said air travelers this year can expect to pay fees for checked baggage and other services and items that used to be free, such as drinks and snacks.

"We expect 1.2 million travelers using the two airports this holiday, which comes out to be a 7 percent decrease," said Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for the authority that runs Dulles International and Reagan National airports. "But this is all guesstimating -- people are booking flights up to the last minute."

She has one crucial piece of advice, though: Leave plenty of time to get to the airport so you don't miss your flight.

"The airlines are cutting back, if not the number of flights, then the size of the aircraft," Hamilton said. "The flights will be full. If you miss a flight, you might not be able to get on the next one easily."

Amtrak carried 665,000 passengers last year during the Thanksgiving holiday period, which it considers as the Tuesday before the holiday through the Monday after. "We're anticipating another strong week," said Karina Romero, spokeswoman for the railroad.

Wednesday has been the biggest travel day by far, with 128,000 passengers packing the trains, a 65 percent increase over an average Wednesday, she said. There have been no fare increases over last year, but Romero strongly suggested that people make reservations if they have not yet done so.

Unless you have relatives picking you up, expect to pay more for car rentals, according to AAA. If you want to avoid staying with your relatives, you might be in luck: Hotel costs are down, according to the auto club's Leisure Travel Index. Rates for AAA Three Diamond Hotels will be down an average of 10 percent compared with last year.

For those driving, Wednesday and Sunday are typically the worst traffic days leaving and returning to the Washington region. Motorists who have to leave on those days should consider driving at off-peak hours.

Those heading north on Interstate 95 through Delaware should see some relief, because a fifth lane was added in each direction between Route 1 and the split for the Delaware Memorial Bridge and the New Jersey Turnpike. The work was completed six weeks ago, said Mike Williams of the Delaware Department of Transportation.

Future work includes rebuilding the toll plaza, always a bottleneck, to accommodate highway-speed E-ZPass detectors. Plans are also in the works to rebuild the aging Delaware rest stop.