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If you decided to fly somewhere this Thanksgiving and you don't have a ticket, you're probably going to pay for it.
The price and availability of flights are still being affected by fuel costs and the number of flights offered. Bookings for leisure travel are down about 7 percent this fall.
"Wanna get away" on Turkey Day? You may still find a deal, but it's more likely you'll pay.
"The flights are expensive, and they're few. And the flights are smaller, planes are smaller and capacity is smaller," said travel agent Marj Donoghue.
Industry watchers say you'll find fewer bargains and you'll have to be flexible with flight times. According to analysis of flight schedules by USA Today, airlines will offer 11 percent fewer flights this Thanksgiving than last.
Delta confirms it has cut one-quarter of its flights and reduced capacity at Salt Lake International by about 15 percent in the past year.
But the airline says these are adjustments it started a year ago as it retooled to cope with higher fuel prices, reduced demand and emergence from bankruptcy.
"They had to look at some cost-cutting measures. Part of it was cutting down on the numbers of flights and size of the planes," Donoghue said.
Just because availability is down and prices are up, don't expect the airports to be empty if you're flying this Thanksgiving.
"The American public has grown up with their vacations, and I think they're more prone to do away with other things first -- or at least save on other things so they can still take their family vacation," Donoghue said.
Passenger traffic, however, is down at Salt Lake International -- 3 percent from August 2007 to this August. There's also another factor affecting your fare: airlines may publish a discount airfare but drastically reduce the number of seats at that price.
This is simply the state of the industry as Thanksgiving arrives. Try to book a flight to New York or Orlando today, it will cost you around $1,000 roundtrip; Chicago or LA is around $330. But you can still get a flight to Denver at a competitive fare if you avoid peak travel times.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
