The poll finds many Americans (57 percent) feel optimistic about the economy right now, with just over a third (36 percent) saying they feel pessimistic. Looking ahead to next year, over two-thirds (68 percent) think the country's economy will be in better shape, while over half (56 percent) think their personal financial situation will be better.
AAA predicts big Fourth of July weekend Thursday, July 3, 2003 Posted: 10:40 AM EDT (1440 GMT) GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) -- More people will be celebrating their independence with out-of-town trips this weekend, according to the AAA, which estimates Fourth of July travel will be at its highest level in at least nine years.
The automobile organization said Tuesday that 37.4 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more over the weekend, up nearly 2 percent from 36.8 million last year. That's AAA's highest estimate for the Independence Day weekend since it started using its current method of projecting the numbers, spokesman Justin McNaull said.
The AAA expects most of the increase to come from motor vehicle travel, predicted to rise 2 percent from last year to 32.6 million.
"The Fourth of July and summer travel in general seems to be about loading people into the car and driving to the beach or grandma's," McNaull said. The increase in auto traffic is predicted even though gasoline, at about $1.49 a gallon, is about a dime more expensive than it was last year.
The AAA estimates air travel will drop 2 percent to 4.3 million, but some in the industry said they expect a boost.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas predicts it will see 1.79 million holiday passengers from June 27 to July 7 -- a 2.3 percent increase over last year, but still below levels before the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Amy Newlan said she and her husband decided to snap up "a pretty good deal" to fly to Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean over the weekend with their four children, ages 12 years to 9 months.
"Usually, we're just kind of around town," Newlan, 38, of Flower Mound, Texas, said Wednesday. "We wanted to go somewhere more exotic."
Los Angeles International Airport officials expect their holiday weekend passenger numbers to drop 5 percent from last year to at least 750,000. But that's due partly to airlines offering fewer flights, and airlines expect their planes to be about 95 percent full, said Los Angeles World Airports spokesman Thomas Winfrey.
Nice addition to this thread, thanks a million.