‘Tis the season to travel and be with family…or is it? According to a poll conducted by Rasmussen, 62% of Americans are less likely to travel this holiday season as compared to last year. According to Rasmussen this means that around 80% of Americans are staying home this year, that seems pretty darn high don’t you think? I mean 80%? Really? Personally I think now is a great time to take advantage of super cheap deals on flights, especially via Southwest Airlines and Virgin America. I recently booked a round trip flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles via Virgin America and the total cost was under $100! A round trip flight from San Francisco to Washington DC is right around $200!
According to James May, who is the chief executive over at The Air Transport Association of America:
“We are continuing to see fewer air travelers over the holidays, a trend that has been apparent throughout 2009.” “Capacity reductions will likely mean fuller flights on many days.”
Even Southwest Airlines which is known for having some of the cheapest flights around is seeing very little increase in business during this holiday season. We’ve also been seeing companies such as Google offering free Wifi on Virgin America flights to help make their airline more desirable. With the current cost of some of these flights it’s actually cheaper to fly than to take any other form of transportation. I don’t think the economy is the only thing to blame here though. Everyone knows that traveling during the holiday season is an absolute nightmare and I doubt many people want to experience it. Remember the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? Holiday travel disasters are pretty much guaranteed every year, especially on flights that are either delayed or canceled due to weather. Good thing I’m just traveling within California!
Every year my mom hosts one of her famous new years parties where she brings together around 30 people to eat, sing, drink, and dance the night away. We also celebrate my dad’s birthday which is on the 29th of December. Clearly, I can’t miss these two things.
So what are your plans for the holidays? Are you going to be traveling this year? Where and how?
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