People will be taking flight and hitting the road in large numbers this holiday weekend.
Despite higher gas prices, vehicle travel is forecast to return to near pre-pandemic levels, as it did for the Memorial Day and Independence Day weekends this summer, according to AAA Oklahoma.
“Travel volume will likely reach pre-pandemic levels as people prioritize vacations and travel celebrations they haven’t felt confident taking in the previous two years,” said Leslie Gamble, AAA Oklahoma manager of public and government affairs. “Even with higher prices on gas and other components of travel, people are taking long-dreamed-of trips as well as returning to traditions such as trips to lakes, seasonal entertainment venues and sports.”
Labor Day airfares are up 20% from last year and 30% from the same period in 2020. Mid-range hotel rates are up 53% from the pandemic-impacted holiday weekend in 2020. Car rentals are costing an average of 32% more than in 2020.
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“Increased traffic is likely to result in increased chances for crashes,” Gamble said. “So plan ahead and travel during off-peak times. Obey the rules of the road. Your safety and the safety of all road users depends on it.”
At Tulsa International Airport (TUL), traffic will be high, as well.
“We’re expecting another busy holiday weekend,” said Andrew Pierini, the airport’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer. “Our capacity for this Labor Day over Labor Day of 2021 is up 11%. And when you compare that to the domestic average, it’s only at 4½%. That’s really kind of due to all the new nonstops we’ve added to the market. It’s a good thing to have.”
TUL is looking to strengthen momentum it’s been building in 2022. Passenger traffic at Tulsa International Airport is 100% of pre-pandemic levels in the month of July, with the airport welcoming 286,882 passengers for the month, compared with 286,721 in July 2019. Previous months had seen passenger traffic recovery above 95%.
Eight new nonstop routes recently have been added at TUL, including a coveted flight to New York City (LaGuardia Airport).
“A lot of different airports are seeing their seating being cut or they are not getting new nonstops now due to some of the pilot shortage issues they are having,” Pierini said. “That just really shows the airlines are having success with what they are adding in Tulsa, and it’s giving them confidence with their limited assets and resources that they can make the most of them here.”
American Airlines’ first flight to LaGuardia from Tulsa is Nov. 4. It is the first nonstop flight from TUL to the New York metro since United Airlines’ service to Newark, New Jersey, in late 2014.
“Preliminarily, American has told us that the bookings are looking really strong,” Pierini said. “They launched a couple of different nonstops from LaGuardia around the same time, including Little Rock (Arkansas), and they are told us that we are performing stronger than those. We are pleased with that. It’s getting close. It’s exciting.”
