Cheap fares help lure back holiday fliers By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY Flying is making a modest comeback this Thanksgiving as more people tire of= =20 lengthy drives, take advantage of cheap fares and shake fears that kept=20 many closer to home last year. AAA expects 5.1 million Americans will fly=20 this year, up 6% compared with last year. The vast majority of holiday=20 travelers =97 drivers =97 will stay steady at 31 million. Major airlines= have=20 fewer flights since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, so planes are likely to= =20 be full. Some major carriers added flights this week to match demand =97=20 nearly 500 at Continental Airlines, nearly 200 at United Airlines. Though=20 overall passenger traffic is still down 10%-15% from 2000, the holiday=20 rebound is seen as a positive sign for flying. "That really speaks to=20 people's confidence in air travel," says AAA spokesman Mantill Williams.=20 The rebound coincides with a major overhaul in airport security. Last week= =20 the Transportation Security Administration officially took over=20 passenger-screening duties and next month begins screening all checked=20 luggage. The agency says it's meeting its pledge to get passengers through= =20 screening within 10 minutes and doesn't expect otherwise this week. "We're prepared for this," says spokesman Brian Doyle. Speedy screening=20 didn't sway Frank Gray to purchase plane tickets =97 cheap fares did. "I was= =20 worn out thinking about the 10-plus hours of driving," he says of his=20 Greensboro, N.C.-Orlando trip. "On Sunday we found a great airfare and will= =20 make the trip in just over four hours." At a time when fares for the trip=20 were hovering at about $400, Gray found $157 fares on US Airways that=20 "enticed us enough to get off the highways." The travel industry is=20 preparing for the heavy week ahead: Oakland International Airport hired=20 customer-service staff to assist fliers who may not have traveled recently.= =20 Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport expects 10% more passengers this=20 week. It will have face painters, strolling musicians, free soft drinks for= =20 adults and free crayons and coloring books for kids. Amtrak is adding about= =20 50,000 seats. Advance bookings for Wednesday and Sunday are double the=20 usual volume. Drivers, meanwhile, will pay more for gas this Thanksgiving,= =20 AAA says. The average price is $1.45 a gallon of self-serve unleaded. Last= =20 year, it was $1.21, in part because of low demand after Sept. 11. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (chgdev) http://www.chagdev.com/ (Chaguaramas Development Authority) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************