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The summer travel season has started, which means we're all supposed to be terrified.

There's little reason to be. Southern Arizona travelers don't actually have it too bad, although the following theories do have some truth to them, and the Star's Scott Simonson reveals travel-cost increases on Page A1:

● Flying is no fun. Years of losses have forced airlines to trim their fleets and, in cases where flight frequency is maintained, it's often with smaller, cramped regional jets. Less capacity equals less comfort and higher fares.

Varying estimates indicate that airfares average 4 percent to 10 percent higher than a year ago, while airlines pass on rising fuel costs. Onboard service isn't likely to be good, either: Airline crews, cut back and overworked to the point of burnout by their financially strapped managers, are cranky.

● Driving won't be any better. Even if your car can stand the triple-digit stress of escaping the desert, you have to feed it with $3-a-gallon gas.

That makes a round trip to San Diego cost about $100, even if you don't factor in the wear and tear on your vehicle.

● Hotels, their pricing power back after years of slow growth, are charging an average 9 percent more this season.

These troubles won't escape Tucsonans headed to hub airports and popular summer vacation spots, but at least the front-end experience should be calm. Our community's peak travel season is March, and flights from Tucson aren't much more heavily booked in the summer than they are the rest of the year.

About 81 percent of seats were filled out of Tucson in June 2005 and only 78 percent in July 2005, according to Alex Kovach, the Tucson Airport Authority's director of air service research and development.

What's more, Tucson International Airport is seeing an increase in airline seat capacity. TIA will have a 3.4 percent rise to 48,798 seats for the month of June. This won't keep up with the airport's 9.5 percent growth in passenger traffic in 2005, but it isn't enough to bloat the planes.

Of course, there's also the option of flying from Phoenix, where more than 100 destinations are served nonstop. But it's often not worth the bother. Just by driving there, argue Kovach and airtucson.com's Carol Phillips, you are adding a stop of your own — "except you're the pilot,'' Kovach said.

In addition, TIA has yet to fill up its shuttle-serviced parking lots, security lines are rarely longer than 10 minutes and, because it isn't a hub airport, its concourses aren't filled with weary connecting passengers. Fares are often comparable from the two cities, especially when including the additional gas and parking costs at Sky Harbor.

Travelers can also still find some summer deals, especially if flexible on dates and times. The "low fare finder'' features on many airline and travel-agent Web sites can identify the best (cheapest) dates to go.

For example, Tucson-Chicago round trips go for only $200 plus taxes on some days in July.

While it's undeniable that Arizonans are paying 77 cents more per gallon for gas now than a year ago, according to AAA Arizona, the shock value wears off if you do the math. Driving a 20 mile-per-gallon car 1,000 miles — enough for a round-trip vacation to Southern California — costs only about $40 more than last year. Eating one lunch from a cooler instead of a restaurant can save a family that much.

Keeping cars tuned up, changing oil, checking tire pressure and replacing air filters can increase gas mileage another 10 percent, too, says AAA public affairs director Linda Gorman. Online, AAA's www.fuel costcalculator.com can estimate fuel costs for any specific trip.

Other ways to cut travel costs include booking car rentals and hotel rooms early, then re-booking if the prices drop closer to your trip. Try business-oriented hotels where occupancy drops off in the summer. Rent cars after Thursday noon to get weekend deals, or for an entire week.

If all else fails, staying home is always an option. But we're already hovering around 100 degrees. A month from now, an escape will sound pretty good — even if it needs to be modified somewhat.