Fewer people likely to travel for holidays

Thanks to shrinking budgets and rising unemployment, roads and airports will be a little less crowded than usual when the traditional Thanksgiving travel surge starts next week.

"Last year we had record numbers, but we're expecting a 10 percent decrease in passengers during peak times this Thanksgiving," said Julie Rodriguez, spokeswoman for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

But if you are planning to spend turkey day with far-flung family, you still need to plan ahead and leave extra time to get to your destination, Rodriguez said. Even with an increasing number of stay-at-homes, 35 percent more people will be traveling through Sky Harbor on Nov. 26 than on a typical Wednesday, Rodriguez said.

"Despite the expected decline in passengers this Thanksgiving holiday travel season - the first such decline in seven years - Thanksgiving remains the busiest travel time of the year for airlines," said James May, president of the Air Transport Association, an airline trade group. "And make no mistake - the airports will be busy and many flights will be 100 percent full."

AAA predicts 41 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home for the long holiday weekend. It's about 1.4 percent fewer than were on the move last year and the first decline in overall Thanksgiving travel since 2002, said Linda Gorman, AAA Arizona spokeswoman.

Recently sinking gas prices and double-digit discounts on hotel rates may encourage some cash-strapped people to make last-minute travel plans after all, she said, but Thanksgiving is shaping up to be the fourth consecutive holiday to show a year-over-year decrease in travelers.

"Gas prices have dropped 82 cents in the last month, but the economy is trumping everything right now," Gorman said.

Still, more than four out of five of the holiday travelers will drive to their destination, so highways will be jam-packed. Especially since Thanksgiving trips are compacted into just a few days, unlike the two-week Christmas-New Year's spread, Gorman said.

The worst traffic will be on the Wednesday before and Sunday after Thanksgiving, she said.

Rodriguez said Sky Harbor predicts the same peaks but said the Tuesday before and Monday after the holiday will also be very busy at the airport.

The military will help speed the air portion of the journey by giving commercial airlines access to usually restricted airspace over Los Angeles and Phoenix from Tuesday through Dec. 1, said Brian Turmail, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Dubbed "Thanksgiving Express Lanes," they add extra travel corridors to the highways in the skies, he said.

"In good weather, they are helpful. In bad weather, they are extremely helpful, giving airlines an escape route around the weather," Turmail said.

Those who haven't traveled since last year may be unfamiliar with security procedures and added airline fees, Rodriguez said. That can cause confusion - and delays - from check-in to checkpoint, she said.

Rodriguez recommends that before leaving home, passengers check with the airline to find out about add-on fees, check the TSA Web site to brush up on checkpoint regulations, call the parking hot line at (602) 273-4545, and pack a snack minus the beverage. That will help speed the trip from parking garage to plane, she said.