COLUMBUS – For the ninth year in a row, the auto club AAA predicts more Americans will travel this Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend, with a record number of Ohioans choosing to do their traveling by air.
Spurred by a strengthening economy, AAA projects that the highest number of Thanksgiving travelers will hit the road or take to the air since 2005, with 2.2 million Ohioans joining 54.3 million Americans who plan to travel at least 50 miles from home between Nov. 21 and Nov. 25, a 4.8 percent increase over last year, said Kimberly Schwind, senior public relations manager for AAA Ohio Auto Club.
Thanksgiving travel by the numbers
Total…………………….54.3 million
Ohio………………………2.2 million
By Car
Total………………….. 48.4 million
Ohio…………………….1.99 million
Heaviest traffic: 11/21 afternoon/evening
Best time to drive: Thanksgiving Day
Ohio gas price (11/5/18) $2.52 -12 cents from 2017
By air
Total……………………4.27 million
Ohio…………………..185,000
Busiest days: Nov. 20-21
Lightest day: Thanksgiving
-Source: AAA
Nearly 90,000 more Ohioans will take to the roads this year, a total of 1.9 million, so Schwind says travelers should expect crowded roads, especially during evening commutes starting Nov. 19.
“Then it’s going to get even busier on Tuesday and peak on Wednesday evening,” she said. “And, that’s as we see the evening rush hour traffic mixing with the travel traffic.”
She also cautions drivers to expect heavy traffic on Nov. 25 as travelers return home.
Air travel in Ohio is expected to hit an all-time high as 185,000 Ohioans fly to their destinations, a 6.3 percent increase from last year. The 4.27 million Americans expected to fly is a 5.4 percent increase and is the highest number of Thanksgiving air travelers since 2007, Schwind said. Travelers should account for long security lines and increased drive times to the airport, she said.
The Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving are usually the most popular air travel days and Schwind says an analysis of flight booking data from the last three years shows those days have the highest average roundtrip ticket price while Thanksgiving Day consistently has the lowest average ticket price and is the lightest travel day.
Most travelers booked their flights between Sept. 23 and Oct. 25 and paid an average ticket price of $478 roundtrip but Schwind says last-minute ticket buyers can get cheaper rates.
“We’re expecting the average round-trip ticket price to be about $459 between now and November 15th, but keep in mind, the last-minute flight availability is going to be limited,” she said.
The best days to travel – by land or air — will be on Thanksgiving Day, Friday, or Saturday, auto club experts say.