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American Morning

Stations and Airports Still Likely to Be Busy Despite Drop in Travel

Aired November 21, 2001 - 07:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HARRIS: You know, it's a normally busy travel day as millions of Americans head off for Thanksgiving. And even though travel this year is expected to be a bit lighter than usual, the highways, train and bus stations and the airports are all likely to be packed this time around.

Now, we have two pre-holiday perspectives for you this morning. Jason Carroll is standing by at LaGuardia Airport in New York. Liz Weiss is at an Amtrak station just west of Boston. Happy Thanksgiving eve to both of you.

Let's start with you, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Leon.

Well, you know, we're here at LaGuardia Airport. We're told that travel is down by about six percent overall, that's if you're taking a plane, a train, an automobile, whatever. If you're just talking airline travel, it's down by about 20 percent, about 25 percent. But it's really hard to tell from looking at that with what you see right here.

It is packed here at LaGuardia Airport. People have been cuing up all morning long, Leon, as you can imagine, some people telling us they've had to wait as long as two hours because of all the new security measures that are in place. That's going to add to your wait, whether you're here at LaGuardia or any other airport across the country.

According to AAA, last year there were about 37 million people who traveled during the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, we're looking at about 35 million people. So that's a reduction of about two million people.

The airline industry has been hit hardest of all since September 11.

Right now I want to bring in Tom McCabe. He is with United Airlines. Tom, seeing all these people out here this morning must be somewhat of an encouraging sign for you.

TOM MCCABE, UNITED AIRLINES: Yes. I think we can see the traveling public is back in the skies and for the long-term we hope this is a very encouraging sign the public is back on board.

CARROLL: Now, during this holiday travel season right now for Thanksgiving, any indication as to how this is going to help the airline industry? Do we have any numbers in terms of how it will help make up for the deficit since September 11?

MCCABE: I think it's really too early to tell at this stage. Hopefully this is a good sign for the future. We expect our airplanes to be 80 to 85 percent full today, with many of them being completely full. So we really hope this is an indicator of good things to come for the traveling public.

CARROLL: All right, Tom, thanks very much.

Also got some advice from Tom a little earlier about, advice for some people who are going to be traveling this holiday season. If you're planning to head through any of the airports, allow at least two hours in order for you to get onto your flight because of all the security measures that are in place, and because it is busy, you're going to need at least that long in order to get onto your flight and to make your flight.

Right now I want to turn it over to Liz Weiss. She is standing by live with an update on how some of the trains are looking. She is standing by live for us outside of Boston -- good morning to you, Liz.

LIZ WEISS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And as you can see behind me, the scenario is a lot different here at the train station. It is actually very quiet, surprisingly quiet. Things are certainly going to heat up a little bit later as trains are sold out throughout the later morning and into the afternoon. Amtrak does expect an increase in demand over the Thanksgiving season. They've actually added 75,000 seats nationwide and I can tell you here in the northeast, two new trains have been added.

Now, unlike airports, where people have been told to get there one, two hours in advance, here people have been told to get here just about 30 minutes in advance. If people need to buy tickets here at the check-in counter, they should get here an additional 30 minutes on top of that.

Now, new security measures. Let's talk about that for a minute. People do need to show a photo I.D. when they're purchasing tickets and if they, when they do get onto the train, conductors will be coming through collecting tickets, again, asking for those photo I.D.s. You've got to get your tickets ahead of time. You can no longer buy your tickets on the train.

Police presence, a few extra police here at the station and we've been told police presence on the trains, as well.

Now, the general consensus talking to passengers this morning is that they like to take the train because it's less of a hassle. It's easier than driving and dealing with traffic and it's certainly easier than getting to the airport several hours in advance.

This train, the high speed train to New York, is about three hours so you can see it's a very convenient option for people and it's quiet right now, but we do expect in the next hour or two they'll be quite a few more people behind me -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, good deal. Thanks, Liz. Liz Weiss checking in this morning from the Amtrak station in west Boston. We'll get back to her later on for, to see how things do shape up there.

Now, the September 11 terror attacks and the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 recently have both produced an unprecedented fear of flying for millions and that raises the question is it safe to travel this holiday season? Are many people going to be so worried about that that they won't travel? Well, we'll find out soon.

Marshall Doney, vice president of auto services for AAA is probably a very busy man this day before Thanksgiving. As you can see, he's joining us here by the side of the road in Orlando, Florida, a perfect spot for a guy from AAA. Thanks for talking with us this morning.

Let me ask you about the numbers that you all have seen with your agency. What are your expectations about travel this season?

MARSHALL DONEY, AAA: Well, we expect, Leon, about 30 million Americans to be traveling, making a trip by car this year, and that's about 87 percent of all travelers out there, and that's a record for the Thanksgiving holiday period.

HARRIS: With that record and with those numbers, then, are you concerned that congestion is actually going to complicate and maybe ruin some holidays this season?

DONEY: Well, over the four day period we expect there to be about, AAA coming to the rescue of about 400,000 stranded motorists. Hopefully people take the time to get their vehicles safety inspected before they begin their trip and perform the necessary routine maintenance, check those tires, make sure the pressure is correct. But we still expect to be rendering service to a lot of people on the road side.

HARRIS: Yes, and folks are going to be not just on the roads as well, but also doing other things like checking out vacation or holiday resorts, that sort of thing. And AAA does keep track of that, as well. What do the numbers tell you on that? Do you see things getting back to the levels they were before September 11?

DONEY: Well, we think auto travel will be down slightly, a few percentage points, but again, it will represent the largest percentage of the overall travel, traveling public this holiday.

HARRIS: Now, I don't want to be a wet blanket here, but one thing that does kind of occur to us is that, you know, a lot of people may be taking to the roads because they're concerned about safety in the air. However, every single holiday season we see that there are numbers of traffic fatalities that we end up having to report the Monday morning after. In this case, we're talking here about such an increase in the number of people who will be on the roads. Is there any extra concern about that?

DONEY: Well, again, if your vehicle is properly maintained, there should be no problems. If you do experience a roadside emergency, it's just good to make sure you pull that vehicle off to the far side of the road and contact your motor club to receive assistance.

HARRIS: All right, Marshall Doney of AAA, we thank you very much for your time and we wish you happy travels this holiday season yourself. Thank you.

DONEY: Happy holidays to you, Leon.

HARRIS: All right, thank you, sir. Appreciate it.

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