Consumer Headlines: Thanksgiving travel, Spirit Airlines bankruptcy, and E. coli linked to organic carrots

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Thanksgiving travel is expected to be busy this year, with about 80 million Americans planning to travel 50 miles or more. This is nearly two million more than last year.

But there is good news for travelers at the gas pump as prices fall.

The average price in Rochester has dropped about three cents since last week, now at $3.27 per gallon, according to AAA. The national average might fall below $3 a gallon just in time for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, with nearly 72 million people planning to travel by car. This surpasses pre-pandemic numbers when almost 71 million traveled for Thanksgiving. The worst time to travel will be Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, but roads will be clearer on Thanksgiving morning.

About six million Americans are expected to fly next week. Despite filing for bankruptcy protection, Spirit Airlines will continue operations. The airline reached a deal with bondholders to help through bankruptcy, and the CEO reassures customers to continue booking travel and using loyalty points. Spirit Airlines hasn’t posted a profit since 2019.

In other news, a deadly E. coli outbreak has been linked to organic carrots sold in 18 states, including New York. While no longer on store shelves, affected carrots from Grimmway Farms might still be in your fridge. They were sold under multiple brand names, including Wegmans, Target, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Walmart. The affected baby carrots have best-by dates ranging from September 11 to November 12. Whole carrots don’t have best-by dates but were in stores between August 14 and October 23.

If you’re a member of the Wegmans Shoppers Club and bought the affected carrots, you likely got a robo-call Monday warning you to throw out the product. According to the FDA, the states with the most E. coli outbreaks are New York, Minnesota, and Washington.

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