But more of those travelers will be taking trips closer to home, the AAA survey found, counting San Diego, Las Vegas, the Central coast and San Francisco among top destinations.
More than 455,000 Southern Californians were expected to fly to their destinations — an increase of 1.4%, according to the survey.
The slight growth rate in the amount travelers this holiday weekend — just 1.6% for the state overall — indicates that high fuel costs may have reached levels that impacted travel decisions, AAA spokeswoman Carol Thorp said, adding that many of the club's members had booked trips that were within a short driving distance.
An increased supply of fuel on the wholesale market has tempered gas prices throughout the state, resulting in a 7-cent dip in the average cost of regular-grade gasoline in the Los Angeles region to $3.41 per gallon on Saturday — down from an all-time high of $3.48 per gallon set on May 9, according to reports by AAA and the California Energy Commission.
But that average is 20-cents more than the national average of $3.21 per gallon of regular as of Saturday, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
"It's totally frustrating," Brian Schultz said as he topped off his Honda Civic for $32 at a Chevron station on Broadway at Pacific Avenue on Saturday.
Regular-grade gasoline there was $3.32 per gallon — 23-cents less than what Hernandez had paid for the same grade.
But for Schultz, no amount of price shopping could have saved his Memorial Day weekend travel plans.
"I was going to drive up and visit my parents in Santa Cruz, but it's just too much," he said.
"It's not worth the hassle."
