ICYMI: Record-Breaking Thanksgiving Travel Fueled by Low Gas Prices

A record-breaking 80 million Americans are expected to travel more than 50 miles and 18 million by plane for Thanksgiving. Those travelers will see the lowest gas prices in over three years—with average gas prices near $3.00, and below $3.00 in 30 states—and lower Thanksgiving meal prices.

Read more below:

Bloomberg: US Pump Prices Court Three-Year Low as Holiday Travel Roars Back
[Maggie Eastland, 11/18/24]

US average gasoline prices are set to fall below the $3-a-gallon level, just in time for Thanksgiving, when holiday travel is expected to climb back to pre-pandemic levels.

The national average retail fuel price already has fallen to the lowest since January, floating just a few cents above its 2021 level. Prices are on track to fall further as West Texas Intermediate crude clings near its lowest level since September.

From the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the following Monday, motor club AAA expects 71.7 million people to travel by car for at least 50 miles. That's 1.3 million more travelers than last year and the most since before the pandemic, when comparing the same seven-day travel window.

Despite a flood of drivers briefly rousing demand, AAA said national average gasoline prices could fall below $3 a gallon before the Thanksgiving travel window. Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at fuel tracker GasBuddy, expects the same.

Last Thanksgiving, drivers paid a national average of $3.26 a gallon. In more than a dozen states east of the Rocky Mountains, drivers may pay as little as $2.25 to $2.50 this year, AAA said. At the end of last week, the national average was $3.08.

"Things at the pump are starting to feel normal for most Americans," DeHaan said, crediting the year-over-year decline to a macroeconomic demand slowdown induced by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hike campaign. "In some parts of the Deep South, where gasoline taxes are low, we're seeing gas prices that would be more equivalent of the nostalgia everyone has for the good times."

Axios: Record-breaking Thanksgiving travel predicted by TSA, AAA
[Sareen Habeshian, 11/19/24]

A record 80 million Americans are expected to travel for Thanksgiving this year, according to AAA projections.

The big picture: That's an increase of 1.7 million people from last year's record-shattering figure.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is preparing for the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record, expecting to screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2. […]

"The 10 busiest travel days in TSA's history have all occurred in 2024, and we anticipate that trend to continue," Pekoske added. […]

What we're watching: Gas prices are lower this season compared to 2023, when the national average on Thanksgiving Day was $3.26.

"Falling oil prices this autumn may help push the national average below $3 a gallon for the first time since 2021, and that could happen before drivers hit the road for Thanksgiving," AAA said. […]

NBC News: Almost 80 million expected to travel over Thanksgiving in record-breaking getaway
[Patrick Smith, 11/18/24]

Almost 80 million people will hit the roads and airways this Thanksgiving, with traveler numbers surpassing pre-pandemic levels, the AAA predicts.

Journeys of 50 miles or more will be made by 79.9 million people in the holiday period — an increase of 1.7 million from last year and 2 million more than in 2019.

For the first time, the AAA's annual prediction includes the Tuesday before and Monday after Thanksgiving to better reflect people's traveling habits.

"Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, and this year we're expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising," Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel, said in a statement.

The majority of trips, 71.7 million, will be by car, meaning 1.3 million more travelers will be on the road compared to last year. Gas prices are lower than the $3.26 per gallon national average during the holiday last year.

ABC News: Thanksgiving travel numbers may break records in 2024
[T. Michelle Murphy, Clara McMichael, and Ayesha Ali, 11/18/24]

The Thanksgiving travel period will see record-breaking numbers for those hitting both the roads and the skies, according to reports from several airlines and travel organizations.

The American Automobile Association projected that 79.9 million travelers will head to destinations at least 50 miles from their homes over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period, which officially runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 2, 2024.

That would be an increase of 1.7 million people from 2023, and 2 million more than in 2019 (looking to pre-pandemic figures, in light of the global event's impact on travel). […]

However, drivers can expect to see lower gas prices this year compared to last year, according to AAA. Last year's national average was $3.26 per gallon. With prices decreasing this fall, AAA predicted the national average could drop below $3 per gallon for the first time since 2021, even before Thanksgiving travel begins.

Associated Press: 'Busiest Thanksgiving ever': How the TSA plans to handle record air travel
[David Koenig, 11/25/24]

Just as there are good odds the turkey will taste dry, airports and highways are expected to be jam-packed during Thanksgiving week, a holiday period likely to end in another record day for air travel in the United States. […]

Auto club and insurance company AAA predicts that nearly 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday. Most of them will travel by car.

Drivers should get a slight break on gas prices. The nationwide average price for gasoline was $3.06 a gallon on Sunday, down from $3.27 at this time last year.

The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 18.3 million people at U.S. airports during the same seven-day stretch. That would be 6% more than during the corresponding days last year but fit a pattern set throughout 2024.

Reuters: Record 80 million Americans expected to travel for Thanksgiving holiday, industry group says
[Doyinsola Oladipo, 11/18/24]

Americans are expected to set a new record for Thanksgiving travel, with nearly 80 million to hit the roads, catch flights and board cruises over the holiday period, travel group AAA said on Monday.

About 1.7 million more people will travel this year from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2, compared to a similar period in 2023. […]

Falling oil prices may help push the national average gasoline price below $3 a gallon for the first time since 2021.

Forbes: Gas Prices Drop To Lowest Per-Gallon Average Since 2021—Ahead Of Thanksgiving Travel
[Molly Bohannon, 11/25/24]

The national average price of gasoline fell to $3.01 per gallon this week—its lowest level since May 2021—ahead of what experts are predicting could be a record-breaking Thanksgiving travel season.

The national average fell for the sixth straight week this week to $3.01 per gallon, down 1.4 cents from last week, 11.2 cents from last month and 23.7 cents from a year ago, GasBuddy reported Monday.

At least 32 states have an average per-gallon price of $2.99, though the national average continues to hover above $3 as 18 states continue to have gas prices over $3 and two have prices over $4. […]

"As Americans prepare to hit the road for Thanksgiving, we're seeing the lowest national average price of gasoline since 2021, with a far better economic picture than when gas prices were last this low," de Haan said in GasBuddy's press release.