As students make the journey back home to eat turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, driving could be the cheapest option for travel.Gas prices are at the lowest price since before Hurricane Katrina’s 2005 landfall, and Don Redman, American Automobile American public affairs specialist, said AAA predicts a 7.2 percent decrease in people flying home for the holidays. “History shows when the economy is in the tank, people don’t get out an travel,” Redman said. Overall, the AAA predicts 41 million Americans will travel for Thanksgiving holidays, which is a 1.4 percent decrease from last year, Redman said.Erin Olsen, biology sophomore, said she is driving to spend Thanksgiving with her family and friends in Auburn, Ala. “It’s just cheaper [to drive], especially since gas is down,” Olsen said. Nationally, regular gasoline  averages $1.89 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. Redman said the continuing decrease in gas prices might cause people to make last minute travel plans for the holidays.”[Lower prices] can serve as an economic stimulus,” Redman said. “But overall, we have always found the biggest constituent is the economy.” Though gas prices are low, the economy is unstable, Redman said. And if it is unstable, people are less likely to travel. When people aren’t confident in job security and are worried about paying bills, they tend to stay closer to home, he said. Redman said 2002 marked the last time a decrease in travel occurred, when about 38 million Americans traveled, because the country was in a mini-recession. Rumors of war and the first anniversary of Sept. 11 compounded by a wobbly economy lead to the decrease, he said. The increase in airfare is a reason people travel less, he said. Michelle Wilcut, spokeswoman for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, said the number of tickets sold for Thanksgiving week are about 10 percent less than last year, and the amount of flights available has not changed. Though traffic is expected to be lower, the New Orleans airport advises passengers to arrive two hours before flights between Nov. 21 and Nov. 30, according to its Web site.Ralph Hennessy, Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Aviation assistant director, said the airport has seen a 6 percent decrease in ticket sales.During the holidays, about 6,234 passengers go through the Baton Rouge airport each day, but this year there are only about 5,843 passengers scheduled to fly each day, Hennessy said.The amount of passengers flying is down nationwide, and airfare prices are up, Hennessy said.Joy Sills, AAA travel agent, said “most of the airlines seem to think prices have gone down,” but tickets are still high for the holidays and have not adjusted to the new fuel prices.Marilee McInnis, Southwest Airlines public relations manager, said the airline did raise prices when jet fuel increased, keeping fares low. The airline has not adjusted prices  because the price of fuel is fluctuating. Southwest Airlines offered bargains for the holidays, especially for customers with flexible dates for Christmas break. Melanie Willliams, travel consultant for Gulf South Travel, said compared to previous years, the amount of people traveling has decreased. In the two weeks before Thanksgiving, tickets have “drastically decreased and some airlines began to lower their prices to “tease” people, Williams said.Prices including a round-trip to San Diego from New Orleans for $180 have been pulled, she said. But they wanted to show customers they “can lower … prices if the economy is getting better.” —-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]