Air travel down, but more driving

WISCONSIN -
Each year the Thanksgiving holiday brings millions to the roadways.

"I think even more than Christmas to be honest with you," Ron Vanisma of Reed City Michigan said.

Travelers, who say they're eager to see family and willing to do whatever it takes, wherever it takes them, to get there.

"We took highway two all the way over to Escanaba, came down through Menominiee, went through Green Bay and the weather was real good," Vanisma said.

Early on drivers reported busy, but smooth travel. While things were less congested at local airports, Austin Straubel and Outagamie Regional. Both reported few delays.
Kim Sippola with Outagamie says passenger numbers are about the same as last year. You won't see empty flights.

"They do reduce the schedule during the holidays because less people are flying, less business travelers, more families," Sippola said. "So there are less seats, but there are still seats available."

On the national level, AAA says budget concerns, reduced capacity and added fees are expected to create a near seven percent drop in air travel. The roads however, are a different story. Around 33 million people are expected to travel by car. That's a two percent increase from last year.

Thanksgiving travel dropped more than 25 percent last year. AAA says this year's expected increase reflects improved consumer confidence.

"There's a lot of traffic, a lot of slow drivers too," Michael Barron of Larsen said.

Barron was heading to Madison and wishing more drivers used cruise control.

"If everybody went the same speed, we'd all get to where we want to go at the same time," he said.

Despite the headache, he says seeing family makes the journey worthwhile.

"Family definitely brings out the best in you," Barron said.

Earlier Wednesday, traffic was backed up for more than an hour because of a car fire. As for the near 40 million drivers who will be traveling, AAA says all will be moving 50 miles or more from home. The average is 815 round trip.