Holiday Travel Costs Ground Some Students
Some students can't afford to see their families this Thanksgiving.
SYRACUSE, N.Y., Nov. 26, 2008 -- Last year at this time, 21-year-old Syracuse University student Wei Wong was looking forward to warmer weather and a big meal.
"I used to always go home for Thanksgiving, up until this year. This is the first year I'm not going home," Wong said.
Home is Los Angeles, and with the high cost of airline tickets, Wong said it's too expensive.
"The prices skyrocketed by three times and then you also have to pay for each suitcase," she said.
Wong paid between $200 and $300 to go home freshman year. Last year she paid about $450. This year, as a junior, she said she'd be looking at more than $600 for a ticket.
And she's not the only SU student staying on the East Coast for the holiday. Irene Manahan, 22, is also opting not to fly home to North Hollywood, Calif.
"It's way too expensive to fly home. Thanksgiving break is not that far from the end of finals, so I didn't want to spend even more money to go back home again," she said.
Manahan is a senior. Although she didn't go home for Thanksgiving last year, she said she thought about it this year.
But, "I think it's too much money to go home for such a short amount of time," Manahan said.
Manahan plans on having a small Thanksgiving dinner in Syracuse with her boyfriend.
"Last year we went all out and had a turkey and mashed potatoes and yams and cranberry sauce," she said. "But this year we decided we're not going to do as much."
Knowing that she's going home so soon, and having her boyfriend in Syracuse for the holiday, Manahan says it's easier to stay.
"Since I'm not all by myself, it's OK for me to stay here," she said.
And it's not just students in the Syracuse area who are being affected.
Marina Cassio, a Columbia University student, said, "I'm sticking around campus this Thanksgiving because the cost of flying from New York to California has gone up so much, especially during the holidays, that it's not worth the three days I would get at home. It's rather ridiculous that the state of the economy is keeping me from seeing my family, but I'm lucky enough to get to spend Thanksgiving with some good friends who live in the city."
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