Add another color to the traditional red, white, and blue this Memorial Day as the nation enters the first holiday weekend of summer under an "orange" terror alert level.
The federal government's decision to raise the warning status to reflect a "high risk" of terrorist attacks triggered stepped-up security at the Pittsburgh International Airport. Allegheny County police have been conducting random inspections of cars at the airport since Wednesday, when the alert level notched up.
Still, the wait at the security checkpoint wasn't much more than 10 or 15 minutes Friday morning, which airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny said was good and bad news.
"If there are long lines, that means there are people traveling, but people perceive that negatively," Jenny said.
About 35 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles this weekend, putting Memorial Day on a par with the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving, according to national phone surveys by the American Automobile Association.
"Americans are not about ready to give up traveling. They're just modifying their behavior to make it possible in this new environment," said Suzanne Cook, senior researcher at the Washington, D.C.-based Travel Industry Association of America.
Leisure air travel is down, but driving is up, Cook said. People are staying with relatives and friends more.
Cook said her organization's national surveys show 28 percent of travelers are planning to travel more this summer than a year ago, compared to 9 percent planning less and the rest not anticipating any big changes.
Still, business is tough for travel agents lately. Even without the war and the Dow, there's the Web, which lets people do their own hotel and airfare bargain-hunting at work or at home.
Marlane Neill, an agent with Four Seasons Travel in Ross, estimated her business is down 30 percent since 9/11. Last winter, when people generally make summer plans, was the worst she's ever seen, she said. She is trying to be an optimist.
"We are seeing a few more people, especially within the last two to three weeks, who are at least inquiring about summer vacations," Neill said.
The tour bus business has changed in recent years, too, largely because of the economy, said Kathleen Nye, tour manager for Lenzner Coach Lines in Ohio Township.
"People are not signing up until the last minute," Nye said.
That leads to moments of panic, she said, over whether last-minute guests still will be able to get hotel rooms.
Gas prices are down from their pre-war peak. The average for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Pittsburgh area was $1.41 on Thursday, down from a March high of $1.62, according to AAA.
That might not be enough enticement.
Paul Getz, 47, an electrician from Emsworth, said his budget can't handle a trip this summer.
"The economy, it's just bad," Getz said. "There's no money out there. You just cut back on the extras, that's all."
It will take more than a wheezing stock market and international strife to keep Point Breeze lawyer Tom Ayoob, 37, and his clan from their annual trip to Ocean City, N.J.
"It's a family pilgrimage," Ayoob said. He's gone every year since he was a kid, and this year will be no exception.
