Labor Day travel? ... make it a road trip

Looking to travel farther than 50 miles from home this coming Labor Day weekend? You’ll have fewer fliers crowding airports, and just a scant more taking to the nation’s roadways. That’s the assessment of AAA for the period Thursday Sept. 1 through Monday Sept. 5.

In aggregate, AAA projects 31.5 million of us will journey more than 50 miles from home – 2.4 percent fewer than the 32.3 million folks who traveled during Labor Day weekend 2010.

No secret as to what’s behind the decline. In a prepared statement, AAA attributes the drop off to the economy, specifically “consumer uncertainty regarding the overall economy, and recent downturns in economic factors that affect discretionary income, which is particularly tied to the travel and tourism industry.”

AAA says some 2.5 million leisure travelers will fly over this Labor Day holiday. That’s 1.9 percent fewer than 2010. The association says, “Rising fuel costs, combined with steady air travel demand, have resulted in rising airfares over the past few months.” AAA’s Leisure Travel Index projects Labor Day airfares will be 13 percent higher than last year. The lowest average roundtrip rate is $202 for the Top 40 air routes in the United States.

Helping keep airfares comparatively higher (although still a comparative bargain in this day and time) is the fact airlines continue to cut seats and reduce routes – especially domestically. The Air Transport Association ways there will be half-of-one-percent fewer seats for sale during the fourth quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2010.

Despite the fact fewer folks will fly this Labor Day, you’d do well to head for the airport early and pack as light as possible. There will still be lots of people looking for a place to park, and queuing up for security.

Story by Jerry Chandler

(Image: worak)