Packing Light: Crumbling economy causing consumers to change travel plans

By John Hinton
Media General News Service
Published: December 23, 2008

The sour economy touched Steve Garcia and his family as they waited yesterday to board a flight to Atlanta at Piedmont Triad International Airport.
They learned that Delta Airlines was charging a $50 fee for extra baggage, said Garcia, who was waiting with his wife, Laura, and their son Chris. They had plans to catch a connecting flight in Atlanta to Los Angeles.
“We left some presents,“ he said. “We could have sent them on FedEx. We had already bought our tickets.“
The Garcias, who live in High Point, are among the 70,000 travelers who are expected to arrive on and depart from flights at the airport by Dec. 31, an airport official said.
Holiday travelers also will use the state’s highways and rail service to get their destinations.
Nearly 1.9 million people in North Carolina are expected to make holiday trips. That represents a decrease of 22,000 travelers from last holiday season, according to AAA Carolinas. Nearly 64 million people nationwide are expected to travel over the Christmas holidays.
Airlines have reduced the number of flights and locations where they fly by about 8 percent, AAA Carolinas said. Thus, fewer North Carolinians plan to travel by air.
Some airlines are charging travelers baggage fees for extra luggage as a way to make money as they struggle to survive in a recession.
The economy is affecting consumers’ confidence, said Carol Gifford, a spokeswoman for AAA Carolinas in Charlotte.
Consumers “are holding back on their discretionary spending, and that is affecting their travel plans,“ she said. “People are concerned about spending money.“
At gas pumps, however, drivers will continue to see lower prices.
The average price for unleaded regular gas in the state is $1.64, a decrease of $2.45 since September’s record high and a drop of $1.31 from 2007, AAA Carolinas said.
In turn, vehicle travel during the holidays will rise by about 3,000 drivers to 1.66 million, AAA Carolinas said. Cheaper fuel accounts for the increase of drivers.
“Low gasoline prices may encourage some travelers to make last-minute plans for trips over the holidays,“ said David E. Parsons, the president of AAA Carolinas. “We expect gas prices to stay low through end of the year and for the first quarter.“
State transportation officials are expecting 30,000 travelers to ride trains in North Carolina this holiday season, said Jane Bagherpour, a spokeswoman for the state’s rail division. That is an increase of about 3,000 riders from last year.
“More and more people are discussing the train as an alternative to flying and driving,“ Bagherpour said.
Meanwhile at PTI, airlines have lowered their fares to make their flights more attractive to travelers, said Ted Johnson, the airport’s executive director.
The airlines are seeing a steady flow of travelers, Johnson said. But the numbers would be 10,000 to 15,000 higher if Skybus Airlines Inc. still was operating its hub at the airport.
In April 2007, Skybus went out of business, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and ended its hub service at PTI.
Deanna Walker said she did not let the recession prevent her from taking an Allegiant flight from Orlando, Fla., to PTI so she could a visit a friend in Charlotte. She paid $130 for the round trip flight to Greensboro.
“If I didn’t fly with them, I would not have been able to come up here,“ said Walker, who lives in Orlando. “I got a real good deal on my flight.“
John Hinton is a reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal.