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Holiday travel expected to be busy and expensive

Many are canceling travel plans because of high airfare.

SAN ANTONIO — More than 50 million people are expected to hit the highways or the friendly, or not-so-friendly skies for Thanksgiving. And no matter how you slice it, the cost of getting to your destination is going to be an expensive one.

90% of travelers say they are driving to their Thanksgiving destination. As for as Christmas goes, if you haven't booked your flight yet, the Hopper app says you'll be paying a pretty penny. 

Hopper economist Adit Damodaran told us, "We're expecting about 40% increases in prices throughout December for travelers who haven't booked yet, so those last-minute fares tend to be much more expensive right now."  

In the KENS 5 newsroom, we're seeing the effects. I booked a flight home to New York City's JFK airport for the end of December about a month ago. It only cost $250. Today the cheapest flight is $707! Sharon Ko took a look at prices to her hometown of Portland, Oregon last week and said $1,000 is what she saw.

And don't forget that rental car. They were hard to come by in the summer. What about now? 

"You could probably estimate around $105 to $110 a day just to, you know, rent a car," Damodaran said. "We've come down from those prices. It's closer to about $75 to $80 dollars a day."  

If you are driving this holiday season gas prices are considerably higher than last year. Right now the average price for a gallon is $3.41. Last year it was more than a dollar cheaper, and prices are expected to rise. 

"Most economists, most prognosticators are saying gasoline prices don't have a lot of room to go down, but they've got a lot of room to go up," Ryan Sitton, the CEO of Pinnacle, told us.

We ran a Twitter poll and found close to 15% of you plan to fly, 22% of you plan to drive, and 63% plan to stay home.

If you are planning to fly try to avoid flying on the day before Christmas Eve and the Sunday after Christmas. Those tend to be the busiest and most expensive days to fly. 

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