YULE BE SORRY: 65M TRAVELING

New York Post
By MATTHEW NESTEL

December 23, 2007 -- It's more expensive than ever, and Mother Nature isn't feeling festive at all, but Americans are still dashing home for the holidays in record droves:

* About 65.2 million are hitting the roads, skies and railways this week - up a half-million from last year, according to AAA.

* Travel grew 0.9 percent from last year, AAA said.

* The Port Authority expects "a record number," with 20 million travelers at its facilities this month alone.

* About 4.5 million are expected to use the region's three main airports between now and New Year's. JFK and La Guardia will count a million each and Newark Liberty 1.5 million.

* Nearly 11 million drivers will use the city's six New Jersey crossings, forcing the Port Authority to suspend construction and maintenance work.

* And about 53 million people will drive this holiday week - with the majority covering 50 miles or more on their sojourns.

One thing all these travelers have in common is that they are breaking the bank to get away.

"Americans face steep increases in their travel budgets this Christmas-New Year's holiday," said AAA Public Affairs Director Gail Weinholzer noting that gas prices, at $3 a gallon and up, remain at "unprecedented levels."

And the average price of a plane ticket has surged 16 percent since last year.

Plus, parts of the country have been cursed with weather that only Scrooge could love, with fog canceling hundreds of flights out of Chicago on Friday, and New York is expected to get socked today and tomorrow with strong rains and winds.