CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — The U.S. is approaching the week of planes, trains and automobiles as the country heads into Thanksgiving.
Approximately 53 million Americans have already started their holiday travel and another 2 million people are expected at airports, according to travel expert Peter Greenburg.
He believes the influx in travel is also due to the United States welcoming foreign travelers again — if they’re fully vaccinated. But Greenburg cautioned the increase in travelers will also stress the industry and may cause problems similar to a few weeks back.
“(The airlines) learned a very painful lesson just a couple of weeks ago, you saw it happen with Southwest Airlines, followed by an American Airlines meltdown. During the travel boom in May, June and July, they literally overschedule their airlines,” said Greenburg.
As a result, according to Greenburg, the airlines added too many routes for their staff to support. He said United Airlines has dropped 10 routes and American Airlines has pulled out of 26 different cities since.
But he said it’s not all bad news.
He believes this may be the year to postpone the traditional Thanksgiving meal and travel abroad.
“Now the irony here is that airfares in and around Europe, where I am right now, are at historic lows,” he said. “So a lot of smart travelers have basically said ‘You know what? I’m going to go overseas when you have airfares from New York to Ireland at $359 round trip or New York to Paris at $398 round trip.’ Guess what? You can’t get from New York to Cleveland for $359 round trip.”