Why 2015 could be the year of the road trip

Summer travel is expected to be up as gas prices hang as low as they've been in years.

Gas prices have been steadily climbing this year, but they remain nearly $1 less than this time a year ago. At $2.41 per gallon for 87-ethanol blend, or about $2.75 on average nationally, these are the lowest prices heading into the season since 2009.

Considering the economy was in a tailspin in 2009, this summer offers the best opportunity for a summer road trip in a decade, said Patrick DeHaan, the senior petroleum analyst for Midwest/East for GasBuddy.

'The stars have not aligned like this since 2005 with low gas prices and a strong economy,” DeHaan said. 'With motorists having pent-up demand after four straight years of $3 gas prices, they are ready to hit the road and they should do so in record numbers.”

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's short-term energy outlook forecasts gas prices to range between $2.68 and $2.41 between May and September. A year ago in this time frame, the prices were between $3.61 and $3.35, according to the agency.

In a GasBuddy survey, 73 percent of motorists said they plan to travel between Memorial Day and Labor Day, with 83 percent saying they will take at least two trips. Predominantly, automobile is their preferred mode, with 86 percent saying their plans center on a road trip.

A National Association of Convenience Stores survey found 27 percent of respondents plan to take more vacation trips this summer, and 86 percent said they will travel by car with affordability being the leading factor.

AAA Travel projected that this Memorial Day weekend would be the busiest since 2005. The travel organization forecast 37.2 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend, which is a 4.7 percent increase from last year.

The group estimated that 89 percent of those people, or 33 million, will be driving.

'That's almost exclusively due to decreased gas prices,” said Gail Weinholzer, of AAA Minnesota/Iowa. 'There's kind of a psychological barrier at the $3 mark, When prices are lower, people are more likely to travel by automobile.”

The 'somewhat recovering economy” is playing a role in the vacation-minded public, she said.

Airline travel also is expected to be strong this summer.

Airlines for America, an association representing the largest U.S. carriers, projects 222 million passengers on U.S. airlines from June 1 to Aug. 31, which is an all-time high and up 4.5 percent from a year ago. Airlines are increasing seat availability by 4.6 percent to help meet demand, the association reported.