Prices in the Lansing area ranged from $1.66 in Charlotte to about $2.26 in Okemos, according to lansinggasprices.com, where drivers log prices they see.
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Airlines for America, the lobbying group for several major airlines, estimates 25.3 million passengers will fly on USA airlines, up 3 percent from previous year.
“Americans largely prefer auto travel because it provides more control over expense, trip distance and duration”, said Don Lindsey, Tennessee Public Affairs director for AAA.
Thanksgiving is the largest American travel holiday, ahead of the Fourth of July and year-end holiday travel, she said.
With gas prices down, we can expect an increase in the number of travelers hitting the road for turkey and Grandma’s special casserole this Thanksgiving. Nationally, the average price of a gallon of unleaded was $2.07 Monday.
Average prices are $2.11 in Florida, $2.01 in Georgia, and $1.91 in Tennessee. “And if that continues to hold, that will lead to the national average dropping under $2 right around Thursday”.
Connie Nelson, spokeswoman for the Wilmington and Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau, said there is no way to determine how many people visit or leave the region to see family on Thanksgiving Day.
AAA Travel forecasts 46.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday, a 0.6 percent increase over the 46.6 million people who traveled a year ago and the most since 2007. The price for a barrel of crude oil trading on the NASDAQ finished the week flat at $41.71. The club said about 90 percent will be driving to their destinations, up a bit from previous year.
During that month, gas prices averaged $1.79 nationwide and $1.66 in Tennessee.
Oil futures prices have lost 45% in the past year on concerns about a global slowdown and a supply glut.
As far as the cost of flights, however, the AAA Leisure Travel Index said that airfares will decrease by 10 percent over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend for an average of around $169 per roundtrip flight across the top 40 domestic flight routes.
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Shupe advises travelers, whether driving or flying, to keep watching the skies.
