Patricia Nazario
July 03, 2008
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Top destinations for Southern Californians this July Fourth holiday include San Diego, Las Vegas and San Francisco. Some travelers are still forking over the money to fly, despite high gas prices and the weak economy. KPCC's Patricia Nazario stopped by the Van Nuys Fly Away airport bus to talk with a few of them.
[Voice over intercom: "No waiting permitted."]
Patricia Nazario: There were no lines to enter the bus depot, or to board the luxury coach that shuttles passengers from the San Fernando Valley to Los Angeles International Airport.
Marienne Hessenkamp: It was easy.
Nazario: Seventy-three-year-old Marienne Hessenkamp was heading back to Upstate New York, after a week in Southern California.
Hessenkamp: The only thing is the plane is very crowded. Usually, I could fly with many seats available, but not this time.
Mary Defterderian: Ticket prices are just expensive now.
Nazario: Mary Defterderian is from Southern California. She lives in the Bay Area now, and in her opinion, ticket prices these days stink.
Defterderian: I've been flying for the last four years, regularly, and they're really expensive now.
Harold Santiago: I'm glad that they didn't charge me for checking in my bag, though.
Nazario: Harold Santiago is just back from Central Florida. He didn't mind the cost of his plane ticket. But the additional charges made him nervous about buying souvenirs.
Santiago: 'Cause I was scared that they were gonna charge me for checking in my bags, and they didn't do that.
Nazario: The Automobile Club of Southern California projects that about five-million people in the Southland will travel over the long weekend. Statewide and national travel numbers are down compared to last year.
