( CNN ) -- Travelers across the United States arrived en masse at airports , hit the roads and boarded trains Wednesday , a day before the Thanksgiving holiday . `` It 's actually surprisingly not as much of a disaster as I thought it was going to be , '' said Rafi Samuels-Schwartz , 25 , who was waiting at New Jersey 's Newark International Airport to board a plane to Minneapolis , Minnesota -- a flight that was on time , he added . `` It was n't pandemonium , it was n't a scene from 'Independence Day , ' `` he said . `` I thought it was going to be considerably worse . '' The number of people traveling this holiday weekend is expected to increase slightly , compared with last year , although the number traveling by air is expected to decline , according to the American Automobile Association , a motorist and traveler organization . The AAA , which surveyed 1,350 American households , projects that 38.4 million people will travel over the holiday weekend , up from 37.8 million last year . However , the number traveling by air is expected to decline to 2.3 million , the automobile association said . In 2008 , 2.5 million people traveled by plane for Thanksgiving . See the FAA 's flight delays map . AAA said the slight increase in the number of Thanksgiving travelers from last year reflects improved consumer confidence as well as `` a growing sense among many consumers that the worst of the global economic crisis is behind us . '' Citing excess baggage fees and surcharges for jet fuel , along with delays and flight groundings , AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said it 's `` not a very friendly environment this decade for the airline industry or the airline traveler . '' David Ross , who was at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago , Illinois , with his wife and four children to catch a flight to Cancun , Mexico , offered some advice . `` You have to be calm and collected when you come to this airport , especially on a day like today , '' Ross , from Libertyville , Illinois , told CNN affiliate WGN . However , by 1 p.m . ET , delays at the country 's airports appeared to be minimal , according to the Federal Aviation Administration 's Web site . It reported that some arriving flights at the airports in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; Newark , New Jersey , and at LaGuardia Airport in New York were delayed because of low cloud ceilings . `` So far , so good , '' traveler Andy Warman told CNN affiliate WABC at LaGuardia Airport . `` My flight 's on time , so I 'm pretty happy about that , '' added Warman , who was headed to Miami , Florida , to see family . At Washington 's Reagan National Airport , the morning lines seemed like those of any other day . `` It 's deserted , '' one woman told CNN affiliate WJLA . `` There 's nobody here . '' Of course , the bulk of Thanksgiving travelers will be going by car , AAA said -- about 33.2 million . `` I 'm going to probably end up sitting in traffic for five hours , '' said Jack DeManche , 21 , a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst , who plans on driving home Wednesday night to Uxbridge , Massachusetts . The drive is usually only about two hours from Amherst , but DeManche -- a resident adviser at the school -- wo n't be able to leave until he closes one of the student residence halls . `` I have to work until at least 6 p.m. , and then I have to pack up , '' he said , adding that in years past , the drive has taken more than twice as long as it does on nonholiday weeks . But even so , he said , he 'd rather brave the drive home Wednesday night than Thursday morning . `` I 'd so much rather get home tonight , '' he said . In Oklahoma , the state 's department of public safety said multiple accidents had shut down Interstate 35 in both directions around Billings . CNN affiliate KWTV said the closures occurred around 12:25 p.m . In California , an accident on the Golden Gate Bridge prompted authorities to close the bridge for a time , snarling traffic . The bridge reopened shortly after noon ( 3 p.m . ET ) , but Golden Gate Bridge District spokeswoman Mary Currie said the backup of traffic would take some time to clear . About 2.9 million people will travel by train , watercraft , bus or a combination of transportation modes , and 2.3 million will travel by air , the automobile association predicted . Jennifer Burrell , from Tucker , Georgia , said she , her husband and their two daughters were driving Thursday morning to just outside of Asheville , North Carolina . They 'll return Sunday . She said she was n't expecting traffic on the way up , but `` it always gets heavy '' on the way back . Of course , some Americans are not traveling at all . Heather McKinnon of Broomfield , Colorado , said she is staying home with family for Thanksgiving . `` I do n't like to fly and really rarely like flying on holidays , '' she said , adding that she would consider driving . `` I know what it 's like going through the airport , '' she said . Plus , she added , `` everything I love is here . '' CNN 's Taylor Gandossy and Augie Martin contributed to this report .
Amherst predicts 2.5 million American will travel over last year . AAA attributes slight increase to improved consumer confidence . Those traveling by air probably will decline to 2.3 million , from 38.4 million last year . The bulk of travelers will be going by car , AAA says .