Holiday travel numbers are expected to drop this season, but don’t expect getting to where you’re going will necessarily be any easier this year than last.

If you’re traveling by air, for instance, don’t expect to find open seats next to you on the plane.

Airline statistics show that planes are operating closer to capacity this fall because airlines have reduced the number of flights. Sea-Tac Airport’s largest carrier, Alaska Airlines, for instance reported that passenger volumes were off 6.4 percent in the third quarter, but the “load factor,” the percentage of seats filled by paying passengers, rose from 79.5 percent in the same quarter in 2008 to 82.3 percent this year. Other airlines reported similar increases as they trimmed less popular flights from their schedules.

Alaska has said its holiday season bookings are looking to be brisk this year with advance bookings looking better than in past years.

To expedite your holiday trip through the airport, Sea-Tac Airport has posted a helpful tips page at www.portseattle.org/seatac/traveler/traveltips.shtml.
Those tips include making sure the names on your IDs match those on your tickets, using advance check-in facilities at home or in the parking garage to avoid queues at the counters and making sure you comply with the rules for carrying liquids and gels in our carry-on luggage. (Gels and liquids must be in containers no larger than three ounces and be placed in a single quart-sized zipped transparent plastic bag.)

For train riders, Amtrak has scheduled 10 extra trains during the Thanksgiving period between Seattle and Portland. All of those trains will stop in Tacoma and East Olympia.

Motorists will likely see fewer cars on the road predicts AAA, but the costs of travel will be higher. Average regular gas prices in Tacoma today were $2.835 a gallon, 78.1 cents more per gallon than at this time last year when unleaded regular was selling for an average of $2.054 a gallon in the Tacoma area.