KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Traffic's going to be heavy today as millions of Americans hit the road for the long Labor Day weekend. CNN's Jim Morelli says backups won't be limited to highways though; they'll be at airports, too.</s>JIM MORELLI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last long weekend of the summer, and Americans are taking full advantage.</s>TED ALLRED, AAA: We're forecasting that some 33.7 million people will travel over the holiday period. And of that total number, some 28 million will be travelling via automobile.</s>MORELLI: AAA says that's five percent more people planning to be on the road over Labor Day weekend this year than last, paying, on average, about a quarter more per gallon of gas.</s>RHONA ALBRIGHT, CARLSON WAGONLIT TRAVEL: I think with the gas prices being as they are today, that has been quite a surprise to see the numbers of people that are planning on driving.</s>MORELLI: At the same time, AAA predicts little growth in the number planning to get out of town by other means, including air. Last year, those numbers jumped about six percent. AAA says the leveling off probably has less to do with airline delay and cancellation problems and more to do with peaking demand. But one consumer editor says that for some people, flying has clearly become an intolerable experience.</s>WENDY PERRIN, CONDE NAST: Flying these days is so unpleasant. It's such a nightmare that so many people are opting not to fly, especially business travelers who are forced to fly all the time for work. In their free time, the last thing they'll want to do is head to an airport.</s>MORELLI (on camera): Still, this is not a weekend for counting on an empty middle seat. Throughout the summer, despite bad publicity and, some would argue, bad performance on the part of the airlines, planes have been leaving the terminals nearly full. Jim Morelli, CNN, Atlanta.
Labor Day Weekend Puts Many Americans on the Road