Travel

Consumers feeling pinched by increases in day-to-day living expenses can take some comfort in AAA’s annual study of driving costs released today. According to the nation’s largest organization for motorists, the cost of owning and operating a new vehicle in 2007 remains basically unchanged from a year ago at 52.2 cents per mile, or $7,823 per year, when driving 15,000 miles annually.

AAA and Hertz® have announced new, exclusive savings and benefits for AAA members in 2007, which include increased discounts on standard and promotional car rental rates, 50 percent off the rental of SIRIUS Satellite Radio and 25 percent off the rental of Hertz NeverLost® GPS.*

Contest Encourages High School Students to Improve Travel and Geographic Literacy with More Than $100,000 in Scholarships and Prizes

An estimated 2 million Michigan residents will travel 50 miles or more from home during the upcoming Christmas/New Year’s holiday, confirms AAA’s latest travel survey – the highest number of travelers for this holiday period since AAA began its Michigan survey in 1999.

With winter weather fast approaching, AAA Michigan is seeking donations of coats, hats, gloves, scarves and blankets at all of its 38 full-service branches statewide from December 4-16. Donated items will be delivered to a designated local charity for distribution to needy families in the area. To locate the nearest full-service AAA branch, visit AAA.com.

An estimated 1.5 million Michiganians said they will travel during the 2006 Thanksgiving holiday period, says AAA Michigan. The vast majority of travelers in Michigan and surrounding Great Lakes states (91 percent) will stay with relatives – a significantly higher percentage than the rest of the nation

Wet and cold weather, including snow, brought the curtain down fast on the 2006 fall color show, with most of Michigan now past peak, reports AAA Michigan.

On August 10, 2006, British police announced the arrest of several individuals in connection with a major terror plot against airlines traveling from Britain to the U.S. As a result, the U.S. government elevated its terrorism alert to Red, the highest level for flights originating in the United Kingdom bound for the United States. Additionally, the threat level for all commercial aviation operating in or destined to the U.S. has been raised to High, or Orange. Travelers have been prohibited from taking liquids of any type into the airport beyond security check points. This has resulted in slowdowns and passenger anxiety at some security checkpoints across the U.S.

Americans have lost their anxiety about overseas travel and are now hitting the skies to Europe and other international destinations this summer, according to research and sales data released by AAA.