Travelers, federal employees react to government shutdown ending
The FAA announced that it’s holding reductions steady at 6% despite the government ending the nation’s longest government shutdown.
Over the river and through the woods may not have been the way you planned to go to Grandma’s house this Thanksgiving, but travelers are keeping options open as Federal Aviation Administration-directed flight cancellations continue.
The FAA announced Nov. 12 that it’s holding reductions steady at 6%, after a drop in air traffic controller callouts, as lawmakers moved to end the nation’s longest government shutdown. Cancellations were previously scheduled to step up to 10% by week’s end at 40 major U.S. airports.
“The data is going to guide what we do because the safety of the American people comes first,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a news release. “If the FAA safety team determines the trend lines are moving in the right direction, we’ll put forward a path to resume normal operations.”
Several major bus and train operators have reported spikes in demand since mass flight cancellations began on Nov 7.
“We definitely saw a spike after we saw the chaos with flights. That is a thing,” said Jen Young, co-founder of RV rental platform Outdoorsy.com. Their bookings are up 12% for October through November. “I think road travel overall is becoming a more and more popular option.”
She noted more than 1 in 5 Americans travel between 50 to 500 miles for Thanksgiving, and 70% travel less than 50 miles from home.
USA TODAY checked prices across modes of travel to see how much getting away will cost Americans who choose not to fly for Thanksgiving. In each sample itinerary, bus and train tickets cost more in time and money. RV rental prices are not included because they vary widely by location, size and rental duration, but Young said Outdoorsy rentals start at about $75 per night and include built-in accommodations.
The following prices were pulled on Nov. 12 and reflect one-way tickets on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving.
How much is it to get there?
▶ Cleveland to New York
- Greyhound – The least expensive ticket was just under $130 and would take 18 hours and 40 minutes with a transfer in Washington, DC. A shorter direct route was priced at about $161 and would take just under 11.5 hours.
- Amtrak – The least expensive and most direct route would cost $188 and take nearly 13 hours.
- Driving – Driving would take a little over 7 hours and 49 minutes, per Google Maps, on a route that includes tolls.
- Flights – The least expensive flight was priced at $72 on Frontier, as listed on Google Flights. It would take just over 6 hours and require a transfer in Orlando. The cheapest direct flight would cost $139 on United and take 1.5 hours.
▶ New Orleans to Chicago
- Greyhound – The fastest option would cost just under $179 and take nearly 20 hours, with a transfer in Memphis. The least expensive option was only about $1.50 cheaper, but would take nearly 30 hours with two transfers.
- Amtrak – The least expensive and fastest option would cost $180 and take 19.5 hours.
- Driving – Driving would take 13 hours and 40 minutes, per Google Maps.
- Flights – The least expensive option totaled $75 and involved a self-transfer between two airlines in Denver – Spirit and Frontier – as well as more than 30 hours of travel time. The least expensive direct option costs $149 on Spirit and would take 2 hours and 20 minutes, according to Google Flights.
▶ San Francisco to Las Vegas
- Greyhound – The least expensive option would cost $185 and take nearly 24 hours with two transfers, in Sacramento and Los Angeles. The fastest option would cost $230 and take just over 15 hours with one transfer in Los Angeles.
- Amtrak – The least expensive and most direct route would cost $149 and take just under 13 hours.
- Driving – Driving would take just about 9 hours, per Google Maps.
- Flights – The least expensive direct route would cost $112 on Frontier and take 1 hour and 40 minutes, according to Google Flights.
(This story has been updated with new information.)
