Holiday travel may be a challenge

If you think you have extra time to make your holiday travel plans because the turbulent economy will keep more people home this year — think again.

Most travel experts say that despite the uncertain times, people still like to go home for the holidays. “People will borrow money to visit relatives during the holidays,” said Tony Maupin, owner of Maupin Travel in Raleigh.

However, there will likely still be less congestion at airports — because there will be fewer seats to accommodate travelers.

This winter, U.S. airlines will experience worse-than-expected capacity declines as they fight to cut costs and offset fuel costs, according to a report released last week by the OAGback Aviation Solutions.

Domestic airlines will cut the number of available seats by 9 percent, or 21.4 million seats, during the fourth quarter, according to the report.

It will also reduce the number of flights by 265,000, or 59 percent of the global market.

That means that this holiday season there are going to be a lot of would-be travelers left stranded on the tarmac.

“I recommend you get your reservations early,” Maupin said. “It’s going to be tight. I think you will see some people who may not be able to fly who want to.”

People planning trips overseas or to their favorite tropical island won’t fare much better.

OAG’s latest figures show that the world’s airlines will offer 46.3 million fewer seats this winter and 451,000 fewer flights.

“They may be able to find a good deal on a hotel in the Bahamas, but they may not get a flight there,” Maupin said.

If the flights to your destination are all booked up, alternative transportation such as trains and buses are available. But it will likely cost more than the airfare.

If you want to compare those amounts to what it would cost to drive, you can go search for AAA’s fuel calculator at www.fuelcostcalculator.com. The site estimates your costs based on regional gas price averages.