Heavy travel expected during holiday season

ST. LOUIS -- Jerry Little has driven a truck long enough to know how things will play out on the roads over the Thanksgiving holiday, almost down to the hour.

Little, 37, of Collinsville, Ill., drives for Pepsi. He figures that around noon, the highways will empty as families begin to gather their belongings "to head for Grandma or whatever. Then it booms up between 3 and 5:30" as they hit the road, he said Tuesday.

Travel experts expect things to boom up substantially for the Wednesday-to-Monday Thanksgiving period -- typically the second-busiest travel period behind only Christmas-to-New Year's.

Mike Right of AAA Auto Club of Missouri said air travel is expected to rise 6 percent this year, while auto travel is expected to increase 1 percent.

Thanksgiving 2001 came just a couple of months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Air travelers were still frightened over the threat of another possible attack and by the long lines and inconveniences as airports began to cope with security changes.

More comfortable flying

"I think people are a little more comfortable with flying the further we get away from 9-11," Right said. "Also, at one point there were some reasonably priced air fares. I think people are taking advantage of that."

Lambert Airport officials expect to top the estimated 500,000 people that passed through the St. Louis airport during last year's Thanksgiving travel period, spokesman Mike Donatt said. They're just not sure how big the jump will be.

"What I think we're seeing right now are not concerns about security but more the result of an economy that's struggling," Donatt said.

Those traveling by car in Missouri will see gasoline prices up substantially from a year ago, but down compared to earlier this month.

Right said the average statewide price of a gallon of regular unleaded on Tuesday was $1.29, up 25 cents from a year ago. But prices have fallen several cents over the past two weeks, he noted.

Crude oil costs have risen to around $27 a barrel from $19 a barrel a year ago, Right said. Whole gasoline costs have risen as well, to around 71 cents per gallon from 50 cents per gallon in 2001.

Right said prices were expected to remain steady through Monday, though he noted that one St. Louis station increased its price 13 cents Tuesday morning. By later in the day, competitors had not followed suit.

"We'll wait and see if anybody else bites on that," he said.

Donatt encouraged airline travelers to arrive two hours before their scheduled departure time -- but not too much before then because too many people causes congestion at the gates.

"We don't want them arriving Monday for a Wednesday flight," Donatt laughed.

The weather forecast for Missouri is generally favorable through the holiday period, but Donatt warned that air travelers need to look at a bigger picture.

"Even if the weather is good here, if it is icing elsewhere, the impact reaches St. Louis," Donatt said. "So when in doubt, contact your carrier to check on the status of your flight."