Labor Day Travel Outlook is Busy, Low Gas Prices Means Busy Highways

Have you noticed gas prices have dropped to the lowest in sometime locally in Bismarck- Mandan. According to Gasbuddy.com, the average price for regular gas is $3.40 a gallon. The prices get cheaper as you head East to Fargo and into Minnesota.

ABC News reports that AAA

"Forecasts that 34.7 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home by car or plane over a five-day period ending on Labor Day. That would be a 1.3 percent increase over 2013. Air fares are 2 percent higher than a year ago, but motorists will catch a small break — gasoline is $3.44 per gallon, down 15 cents from Labor Day 2013, according to AAA."

Furthermore, the skies will be as busy and airlines are making a ton of profit. The survey reports-

" Airlines are running profit margins of 5 percent, up from 2.1 percent in the first half of last year, according to the trade group Airlines for America. Revenue rose 6 percent, while their largest expense, fuel, fell 2.4 percent. The airlines are Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit and United. Airlines are making record profits even as more and more flights are late or never take off. In the first half of 2014, U.S. airlines posted their worst on-time rate since 2008 and the highest cancellation rate since 2000, according to government figures. The nation's big airlines predicts that air travel over the Labor Day weekend will rise 2 percent from the same holiday last year.