Pilots will be busy as many Americans are traveling with the 4th of July weekend upon us. AAA Wisconsin released some projections about how the
Airline industry will be sighing with relief this weekend as airfares increase and travelers scramble to buy tickets.
Commercial pilots will have a lot to celebrate this weekend as sales and capacity increase.
Travelers
According to an article on
Aviation Today, AAA Wisconsin projected the number of Americans traveling this Fourth of July holiday weekend to increase 17.1 percent from 2009, with approximately 34.9 million travelers taking a trip at least 50 miles away from home. Last year, 29.8 million Americans traveled during the same period.
The 2010 Fourth of July holiday travel period is defined as Thursday, July 1 to Monday, July 5.
Drive or Fly?
In Wisconsin, just over 753,000 people will travel for the holiday weekend, which is a 19.2 percent increase over 2009. Of those travelers, about 695,000 will be driving and 18,000 will be flying to their destination. Gas prices across Wisconsin are averaging $2.76 per gallon, about the same as a year ago.
Aviation seems to be the way to go.
AAA Wisconsin Regional President Tom Frymark stated:
The U.S. economy is in a much different place than it was one year ago,"
Leisure air travel also is projected to grow slightly with 1.56 million holiday flyers expected. This would be an increase of 8.2 percent from one year ago when 1.44 million flew.
According to AAA's Leisure Travel Index, airfares over the Fourth of July holiday weekend are expected to increase 13 percent from last year as air passengers will pay a lowest average round-trip fare of $192 per ticket. However, it is important to note that fares for the prior year dropped 16 percent and, in spite of the increase in 2010, fares are still below the average from two years ago
Many airlines have been offering promotional deals on airfares for the fourth of July weekend. Unfortunately for last minute travelers, many of them expired in mid-June.