Travel Blog: DIA lines smooth for Turkey Day transit
By Alan Gathright, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 26, 2008 at 7:15 a.m.
Updated November 26, 2008 at 12:23 p.m.
Photo by Alan Gathright, The Rocky
Security screening lines are flowing fast despite a pre-Thanksgiving passenger load estimate of 147,000 today.
Photo by Alan Gathright, The Rocky
Colby Norwood, 2, dances to the Dixie Land Express' "Pennies from Heaven" as his mom, Amy, and baby brother, Brody, look on.
Photo by Alan Gathright, The Rocky
Linda Billings and, from left, Pace, Cooper, Emma, and Maddie are heading to Tucson "to see grandma and grandpa."
Despite a weak economy, Denver International Airport is predicting the third-busiest Thanksgiving holiday week in its history. The Rocky blogged live from the airport this morning to keep holiday fliers abreast of passenger lines, parking and other helpful updates.
Photo by Alan Gathright, The Rocky
Tiffany Neuendorf with CoCo, who cost a staggering $250 for a round-trip to ride on her owner's lap.
Photo by Alan Gathright, The Rocky
Mariachi Vasquez entertains holiday travelers at an airport food court.
12:23 p.m.
Colby Norwood, 2, was rocking out to the Dixie Land Express version of “Pennies from Heaven” as his mom, Amy, and baby brother, Brody, watched.
“He’s got his daddy’s rhythm,” the Denver mom said, smiling.
But Amy and Matt Norwood hit a sour note trying to hedge this year’s rollercoaster prices for airline tickets.
Frontier Airlines had stopped flying to Tulsa, where they’re bound for Thanksgiving with Matt’s family.
So when Southwest started flying there direct Nov. 2, they jumped at tickets totaling $900 – more than double the normal round-trip rate.
“We paid a crazy amount of money, because we didn’t know what the economy was going to do. At the time, the news was saying fuel was going to go up and tickets were going to be through the roof,” Amy Norwood said.
Then fuel prices dropped as the economy cooled and Southwest cut tickets to Tulsa by half.
“If we had waited, we could have flown for a lot less,” the mom said. “But family is important, so we knew we were going to come whether it be Christmas or Thanksgiving.”
As Matt Norwood put it with a wide what-the-heck grin: “You live and you learn. It’s the holidays!”
12:10 p.m.
It’s like a military airlift when Lisa and Nick Billings pack up with their four kids “to see grandma and grandpa” in Tucson.
The cargo this mission: “Six bags and a car seat,” the Cherry Hills Village mom said.
“We forgot about the extra charges when we packed our bags and paid about $100” for the additional bags, Lisa Billings said.
“We considered not going this year, because of the economic stuff going on – We’re not going away at Christmas because of that,” the mom added.
“But we thought this was really important and the grandparents really love having us come.”
Mom and the kids were moving toward the security checkpoint with commando-like precision and sunny smiles while dad parked the car.
“It’s gone smoothly so far and I can’t believe how empty the airport is,” Lisa Billings said.
11:08 a.m.
Security screening has been smooth sailing at the airport this morning and most passengers are in the holiday spirit with few complaints.
“It’s been walk-up most of the morning,” at security checkpoints, DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon said.
“We enjoy this time of year, because all the passengers are in a good mood. They’re taking the kids to see grandma. Everybody’s pretty much in the holiday spirit.”
The airport’s east and west economy parking lots and the Pikes Peak remote lot are full, but there’s plenty of space at the terminal garages ($18 maximum daily rate) and the Mt. Elbert Shuttle Lot ($5 maximum daily rate). Cannon said the garages won’t fill up despite the holiday. Ditto the 9,000-space Mt. Elbert lot.
Photo by Alan Gathright, The Rocky
The DeJohn family of Boulder: Owen, left, Chris, Ali and Mia, prepare to launch for Thanksgiving in North Carolina.
9:45 a.m.
Crowds are picking up at DIA this morning as the airport anticipates about 147,000 passengers on the busiest pre-Thanksgiving travel day.
Yet, security-screen linings take no more than 10 minutes currently.
The airport’s east and west economy parking lots and the Pikes Peak remote lot are full, but the terminal garages and the Mount Elbert remote lot have room.
9:30 a.m.
Tiffany Neuendorf experienced the upside-and-downside of bringing her long-haired dachshund “CoCo” on the United flight to spend Thanksgiving with her family in Fairfax, Va.
"They told me because she’s my 'odd-sized baggage,' I got to skip that big line," the Gunnison woman she said as she and her boyfriend, Alex Grabowski, stepped right up to check-in.
Airline workers and fellow passengers couldn't resist petting the cute pup, whose tiny size allowed CoCo to make her debut plane flight in a small carry-on carrier.
"Come here, vicious," Alex’s dad, Brad Grabowski, jokingly told the dog. "Time for your (sedative) pill."
The downside? The sticker shock of taking the wee pooch aboard: $250 round-trip.
"That's a half-way decent dinner," the ticket agent helpfully noted.
Tiffany said she considered leaving her "adorable little puppy" at home, "but not for very long. She's too cute."
"And I had never really been charged before either. I've traveled with my cat before and they didn’t charge me. So, I kind of assumed they wouldn’t this time."
8 a.m.
Boulder parents Chris and Ali DeJohn looked like Sherpas with 22-month-old Mia in a backpack and a cart-load of bags.
But the family was all smiles as they headed for a flight to North Carolina for a Thanksgiving feast with family.
"It's pretty easy. They're good travelers," Chris DeJohn said of the kids.
Mia showed off a nick on her tiny hand, saying: "This is my 'apri-cut.' "
Four-year-old Owen displayed his stuffed toy seal.
7:30 a.m.
The east airport economy lot is full.
The Pikes Peak remote economy lot is expected to fill quickly this morning.
Otherwise, there is still room in the parking garages, and all other lots are still open.
And while lines outside the United checkin are starting to fill up, security lines are moving smoothly.
Photo by Alan Gathright, The Rocky
Mike Edwards and his sons Nick, left, and Cole, are flying to Portland, Ore., for Thanksgiving with his brother's family.
6:45 a.m.
Mike Edwards of Denver and his sons, Cole, Cole, 11, and Nick, 8, rose before dawn to make their flight to Portland, Ore., to spend Thanksgiving with his brother’s family.
“I told the boys we’re going to get here early for a 10 a.m. flight. But it’s at 8:15 a.m.,” Edwards said.
“It’s going smoother – other than being up too early,” Edwards said as they entered short security screening lines.
“When we checked in at United, we really didn’t have to wait. But by the time we checked in the (passenger line) corral was already full.”
Despite a weak economy, Denver International Airport is predicting the third-busiest Thanksgiving holiday week in its history.
Airlines estimate 929,220 passengers will travel through DIA from Tuesday through next Monday – only 2 percent below the 950,092 travelers who passed through the airport during last year’s Thanksgiving week. And not far off DIA’s 1996 record of 966,976 Thanksgiving week passengers.
DIA officials say this year’s dip is more a reflection of the airlines’ decision to trim flight capacity nationwide to cope with rising costs.
Today’s expected to be the busiest pre-Thanksgiving travel day in 2008 with 146,325 passengers. That’s up from 142,457 on the same day last year.
The airport will have all hands on deck this week with full staffing for federal security screeners, airlines, and terminal concessions to keep passengers moving.
And to lift your holiday spirits, the airport’s will have musicians and dancers performing throughout the terminal from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
For starters, here’s Rocky aviation writer Chris Walsh’s tips for a smooth, money-saving trip:
Avoiding fees and saving money
* Pack as light as possible and try to avoid checking bags in the first place.
* Consider flying Southwest Airlines, which doesn't assess many of the baggage fees and other charges its competitors have instituted in recent years.
* Check out individual airline Web sites for any one-time reductions when it comes to the new fees. United Airlines, for instance, is now offering a 20 percent discount off the $15 fee for a first checked bag for travelers who pay for it via the carrier's Web site between Nov. 10 and Jan. 31.
Moving through ticketing and security
* Print your boarding pass at home, particularly if you don't plan to check bags, which will allow you to avoid the longest lines at the ticketing counters.
* Be prepared to shell out more money at the ticket counter. Fumbling for a credit card to pay for your checked bags not only delays the process for you but for everyone else in line as well.
* If you're traveling with children, or if you simply need more time to go through security, use one of the new "family" lanes the Transportation Security Administration has rolled out at airports nationwide.
* If you don't want to hassle with long security lines, sign up for the Registered Traveler program, which allows members to use a separate lane at participating airports. At Denver International Airport, a company called Clear runs the program.
Perks
* Be wary of voluntarily giving up your seat on overbooked flights for cash or a voucher. Often you'll have to fly standby on the next flight out of town, which means you could get bumped again. Ask the airline when it can give you a guaranteed seat assignment.
* If you haven't bought a ticket yet, keep checking to see if you can use frequent flier miles for holiday travel. Many airlines will release more reward seats as the departure date nears for flights that aren't full.
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November 26, 2008
9:30 a.m.
Suggest removal
bronco writes:
So what, it's the same story every holiday with the same photos and the same quotes the writer wants to hear, we already know it's a nightmare spare us the details RMN and go find some real stories.
November 26, 2008
10:32 a.m.
Suggest removal
missmilehi writes:
I've never traveled on Thanksgiving before and I'm wondering what it's going to be like tomorrow...
November 26, 2008
1:12 p.m.
Suggest removal
The_KIMN_Chicken writes:
Wow, what a long story, the exposé on Watergate was less wordy.
November 26, 2008
1:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
Darwin writes:
Wow, I guess the RMN didn't like the comments on another story where the headline used turkey day. They removed the article.
Turkey day? What do you expect from the Rocky Mtn Snooze. A yellow rag with third rate writers. True reporters and journalists strive for accuracy and would use the correct word; Thanksgiving. Obviously, because of their lack of talent, they feel they have nothing to be thankful for.