Travelers Prepare for the Holiday Hustle

Travelocity’s 2006 Holiday Data Shows Travel Up, List of Busiest Airports, and How Travelers Plan to Cope

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Nov 08, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) — It seems that nothing can come between Americans and their turkey.
Travelocity’s parent company, Sabre Holdings reports a 15 percent
increase in both passenger volume and ticket prices this year compared
to the same time period last year. In a recent Travelocity holiday
poll, 41 percent of respondents surveyed say they “dread” the actual
journey, even though it’s not enough to keep them away from family and
friends. Seventy two percent say they make the trip to spend time with
loved ones.

According to the holiday poll, 91 percent of travelers refuse to
let the recent changes in security restrictions affect their travel.
Security changes and higher fares are not deterring travelers this
year either. In fact, according to Sabre data, 42 percent of all
Thanksgiving travelers booked their travel earlier this year.

“It seems that the busy summer season sent a clear message to
holiday travelers: if you want to be sure to get a seat, you’d better
book it early,” says Amy Ziff, Travelocity’s editor-at-large.
“Airports are going to be crowded and chaotic this holiday. The new
security rules will be the number one problem for travelers this
season.”

Below is Travelocity’s 2006 holiday travel snapshot:

Thanksgiving Destinations With a Growth in Share, Year Over Year:

— New York City (up 15%)

— Charlotte (52%)

— Kansas City (18%)

— Columbus (25%)

— New Orleans (52% but still down 28% from 2004)

— Cancun (24%)

Top Air Destinations for Thanksgiving

1. New York

2. Washington, DC

3. South Florida (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach)

4. Los Angeles

5. Chicago

6. Orlando

7. Las Vegas

8. Denver

9. Dallas / Fort Worth

10. San Francisco

Top Air Destinations for the Holidays Overall are:

1. Orlando

2. Las Vegas

3. Denver

4. Chicago

5. Dallas / Fort Worth

6. Los Angeles

7. Atlanta

8. New York

9. Phoenix

10. Boston

Most Crowded Airports for Departures 2006 Holidays:

1. Los Angeles

2. Denver International

3. Chicago O’Hare

4. Boston Logan

5. Dallas / Fort Worth

6. Newark

7. New York Laguardia

8. San Francisco

9. Philadelphia

10. Atlanta

With a bigger picture of the sheer volume of travelers taking to
the skies this year, it’s no surprise that Travelocity’s recent
holiday poll discovered that most are NOT looking forward to their
journey home. Travelocity’s 2006 holiday poll conducted over the week
of October 25-31, 2006 consisted of responses from approximately 1,800
Travelocity members and obtained information about travelers’ travel
plans and tendencies this holiday season. A snapshot of survey
highlights are below with additional results available at
www.travelocity.com/holiday2006.

— Getting to and from their holiday destinations is the number
one thing on peoples minds this holiday season (41 percent),
followed by dread of going back to work (32 percent) and
gaining a few extra pounds (24 percent)

— Catching up with family and friends is the most popular reason
for traveling during the holidays (72 percent), followed by
only 12 percent who just look forward to the time off from
work

— The effects of security alerts and regulations on passengers:

— Increased security alert levels only have an effect if the
threat level is red (38 percent), otherwise it has no
effect on holiday travel plans (45 percent)

— The recent airport security changes do not necessarily
make people feel any safer while they are traveling (51
percent)

“Be smart about your holiday travel this year and be sure to know
the new TSA and airline security guidelines before you even start your
holiday packing,” said Ziff.

For more tips and advice on holiday travel, packing advice and
even how to stay healthy while traveling this year visit
www.travelocity.com/holidaytips.

About Travelocity

Travelocity is committed to being the traveler’s champion —
before, during and after the trip – and is the only online travel
company that guarantees not just the price, but the entire travel
experience – see www.travelocity.com/guarantee for details. This
customer-driven focus, backed by 24/7 live phone support, great prices
and powerful shopping technology has made Travelocity the sixth
largest travel agency — booking $7.4 billion in travel worldwide in
2005. Based in Southlake, Texas, Travelocity also owns and operates
Travelocity Business(SM) for corporate travelers, lastminute.com, a
leader in European online travel and ZUJI, a leader in Asia-Pacific
online travel. Travelocity is owned by Sabre Holdings Corporation
(NYSE:TSG), a world leader in travel commerce.

SOURCE: Travelocity

VOLLMER PR
Andrea Collins, 212-715-2222
andrea@vollmerpr.com
or
Amanda Borichevsky, 972-488-4790
amanda@vollmerpr.com