Warm weather and lower gas prices help Thanksgiving California News travelers

Warm weather and falling gas prices help Thanksgiving travelers get where they are going while saving a few dollars.

The country's airports were busy Wednesday, resulting in more than 1,500 flights delayed in the early afternoon on the east coast. Only about 75 flights were canceled, including about 40 flights in San Francisco, according to the FlightAware tracking service.

"The day has been good so far.The climate has been very cooperative," said American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein. "There are a lot of people, but this Sunday and Monday will be more busy days for us."

Party-goers traveling by car were able to take advantage of the sharp drop in gas prices due to lower oil prices. The average price at the national pump Wednesday was $ 2.60 per gallon, down 25 cents from the previous month.

GasBuddy, a price comparison site, said prices were below $ 2 a gallon in nine US states, with several others just above that mark.

"We are going to see the national average go down, because there are still declines in the pipeline," said Patrick DeHaan, a GasBuddy analyst. He estimated that American motorists spend $ 100 million less per day in gas than a month ago.

AAA provides the busiest Thanksgiving travel period since 2005. According to the auto club, most people who will travel at least 50 miles from their homes drive by car. AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair attributed credibility to a strong economy and growing consumer confidence. "And when we have a little time in our calendars, we benefit."

A good part of the country was lucky to have a mild climate, but that should change in some areas. The rain was moving along the west coast, which resulted in delays in places such as San Francisco, where the Federal Aviation Administration said that the flights on arrival were flying on average almost two hours late.

In the north-east, freezing temperatures were forecast for Thanksgiving day, although the holidays themselves are traditionally days of clear travel.

Aside from the weather, American Airlines airport kiosks were put out of service briefly Wednesday morning. The airline said that no flights had been delayed because of the problem, which seemed to have been resolved by noon.

The eve of Thanksgiving was a more difficult day of travel in the past. Many Americans who travel during the holidays now start earlier and come back later, dispersing the crowd for several days.

The busiest day of all airport security checkers at the Security Security Administration was Sunday after Thanksgiving in 2004, but seven of the top 10 days were in summer, including five days in June.

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