Daytona Beach, FL - If John Candy and Steve Martin taught us anything with "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," it's that the holiday travel season can be pretty unpredictable and busy.
Granted, that was traveling for Thanksgiving, but things are about to get even busier for the later part of the season. That's because of the 115.6 million Americans AAA forecasts to travel 50 miles or more just before Christmas and New Years Day.
And 6.1 million of those Americans are Floridians.
“Holiday cheer is at an all-time high this year, with unemployment at historically low levels, and noted improvements in both disposable income and household net worth,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA. “Travelers should be getting used to crowded highways and airports, as this marks the eighth straight year of new record-high travel volumes for the year-end holidays.”
AAA's flight booking data shows that most travelers will depart two to four days prior to the Christmas holiday, with December 22nd being the single busiest air travel day of the holiday week.
That's why AAA says Christmas Eve is the best day to travel, with the lowest average price per ticket ($527) and the fewest crowds of the holiday week.
Of course, the busiest part of the season will be seen on the roadway, because of the 104.8 million travelers who have chosen the roadways as their preferred method of travel. 5.5 million of those travelers hail from the state of Florida, which is also 200,000 more than AAA saw last year.
Gas prices are also expected to drop just before the holidays, according to AAA. Prices have been somewhat erratic this month. Since jumping 11 cents last week, the state average has steadily declined a penny-per-day the past five consecutive days.
Florida gas prices are currently averaging around $2.50 per gallon (regular unleaded). The state average is two cents more than a week ago, 10 cents more than last month and 21 cents more than this time last year.
During last year's holiday period, Florida gas prices averaged $2.20 per gallon. In that time, the state average declined from $2.25 on December 1st, to $2.16 on January 1st.
“The state average may not return to last year’s levels in time for the holidays, but lower gas prices are coming,” said Jenkins.“Gasoline supplies have risen sharply during the past week, while demand has slumped. This should help send the state average below $2.40 per gallon before Christmas.”
AAA predicts that more than 853,000 motorists will call them for help on the roadside this season. The auto group says that dead batteries, flat tires and lockouts will be the leading reasons.
With that, AAA recommends that motorists take their vehicles to a trusted repair facility to perform any needed maintenance before heading out to travel.
