Top tips for Labor Day travel: AAA Travel SVP

Over 17 million people are expected to be screened at airports during the Labor Day period of August 29 through September 4, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

AAA Travel senior vice president Paula Twidale joins Wealth! to discuss what travelers are set to expect during this travel period.

"Airports are going to be busy... You're going to be traveling with those commuters and similarly, people are also going to be going to the airport at the same time to get those flights going out. So even though overall Labor Day, we're looking at down 4% overall, but domestic is up 9%. So a lot of people are traveling based on cost," warns Twidale.

For those still looking to travel, Twidale offers: "You can save money by being flexible. Certainly you may not get the particular flights you want. You want to be a little bit more flexible. You might be taking that connecting flight or a little off hours. There's still some bargains to be had, so don't be discouraged."

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This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

Video Transcript

Labor Day is right around the corner man.

The Transportation Security Administration known in your hood is the TS A they expect to screen more than 17 million people from this Thursday to next Wednesday.

That is a record for the Labor Day period to discuss travel trends during this holiday weekend.

We have Paula Twaddell who is the AAA Travel Senior Vice President Paula.

Great to have you here on the program with us.

Ok.

So what are we expecting as people are getting ready to take the roads, go to the air.

Uh I don't know if anybody's still going by sea but, uh, maybe a cruise line.

Who knows?

What are the larger anticipations though?

Well, it's gonna be busy.

It's a very concentrated period of time.

So we can expect those key days.

Certainly starting on Thursday and of course Friday right up till Monday with the holiday, it's gonna be busy because there's only a few days to travel.

So airports are gonna be busy, you gotta leave enough time, the roads are gonna be busy.

People are gonna be taking off from work, uh, and traveling.

So you're gonna be traveling with those commuters and similarly, people are also going to be going to the airport at the same time to get those flights going out.

So, even though overall Labor Day, we're looking at, um, down 4% overall, but domestic is up 9%.

So a lot of people are traveling based on cost, they're looking for the best value.

So they're getting out there and they're going, what are we seeing right now on a cost year over year basis?

Yeah.

Well, like I said, it's, you know, even though it was slightly down, domestic, domestic travels up 9% and the costs are down by 2%.

So that's good.

The average daily rate from a hotel is slightly down, that's making it a little bit more competitive in the domestic market.

International travel is slightly down, that's 4% down, but the cost is 11 percent up.

So those costs are still staying quite high for the international uh areas.

But people have already made those plans.

They made them long in advance and they're not willing to give up that time and they're getting out there.

And this is kind of the last hurrah before we get into the year ending holiday.

And uh Labor Day is that that time where people like to get out when the weather is still good and they have that opportunity to have an extra day off.

Yeah.

Thanks for reminding me I gotta rerun my Excel spreadsheet when I get home just for that holiday, travel as well and try to get ahead of those prices too.

If people are trying to plan out a last minute trip, what should they be remembering about traveling during this period and where they potentially could save a couple bucks?

Well, you can save money by being, being flexible.

Certainly, you may not get the particular flights you want, you want to be a little bit more flexible.

You might be taking that connecting flight or a little off hours.

There's still some bargains to be had.

Uh, so don't be discouraged but keep, uh, keep your patients with you because you're gonna need that.

You need to leave earlier, uh, to plan for the excess amount of people on the roads.

And I think there's still a to travel.

Of course, you know, you talked about cruising.

Cruising is up for AAA, 12 or 12% people still cruising.

It's, we're finishing the Alaska season, which is extraordinarily busy this year.

But there are some great, um, uh, travel adventures still overseas.

And if you want to go and take those last minute flights and get over there, you have an opportunity to still see some areas over in Europe.