flyfree727 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 572 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 7491 times:
Perhaps because its cheaper than driving if your traveling alone?
The lowest fare between NY and LA right now is $129 one way.. So 2500 miles for less than $130.
WOW 129 to get from NY to LA in 1 day!.. If all goes well, you've invested 8-10 hrs in the trip. Worser case 2 days..
Incredible "deal" for $129 when compared to driving..
Anyone out there every driving it and kept of log of the expenses? Just curious what the comparson would be.
FlyASAGuy2005 From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 6519 posts, RR: 11 Reply 2, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 7465 times:
Quoting flyfree727 (Reply 1): Perhaps because its cheaper than driving if your traveling alone?
The lowest fare between NY and LA right now is $129 one way.. So 2500 miles for less than $130.
WOW 129 to get from NY to LA in 1 day!.. If all goes well, you've invested 8-10 hrs in the trip. Worser case 2 days..
Incredible "deal" for $129 when compared to driving..
Anyone out there every driving it and kept of log of the expenses? Just curious what the comparson would be.
AA ORD
And that's just one example. People blow the whole "air travel is a hassle" thing way out of proportion. I regularly fly out of the WORLD's BUSIET airport on a regular. I have yet to stand in the security line for more than 30-45 minutes and that's on a bad day. Delays will happen no matter where you are. Even in your run of the mill airports like AGS or MEI. Guess what, you're a/c may be late coming in from somewhere so now they've added an hr (sometimes more) to your departure time. Air fares by and large have been unchanged for years. With common logic and factoring in inflation, they should be much higher than they were in say 1995 but their really not. Pax generally want a cheap ticket and convenience in that order. Those that can afford F or non-discounted Y fares that they can refund are not as flexible. Yes, IMO it makes sense to travel by air even in today's climate.
CAM2:"Lightning coming out of that one." CAM1: "What?"
flyfree727 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 572 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 7444 times:
Quoting FlyASAGuy2005 (Reply 2): People blow the whole "air travel is a hassle" thing way out of proportion.
OMG so true.. SO many passengers comment on how pleasant/easy their trips are when they were expecting the worst. The media of course focuses on ONLY the terrible things that happen. Yet every day hundreds of thousands of passengers travel without a snarl. We will of course here from those that have been days delayed departing, then only to sit on the tarmac for hrs to finally arrive to find their bags missing. And this happend every time they have traveled in the last 5 years.
Cubsrule From United States of America, joined May 2004, 21242 posts, RR: 19 Reply 4, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 22 hours ago) and read 7388 times:
Quoting flyfree727 (Reply 1): Anyone out there every driving it and kept of log of the expenses? Just curious what the comparson would be.
The IRS says 50 cents a mile, so something like $1500 for New York-L.A.
I can't decide whether I miss the tulip or the bowling shoe more
dl767captain From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 2539 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 7280 times:
When's the last time you had a horrible experience at the airport that would make you consider driving? Let's look at my SAN-SFO flight. $50 one way, it's roughly a 1 hour flight, get to the airport 2 hours before, and let say 30 mins to get to the curb. So for $50 I spent 3.5 hours traveling one way. If I drove, I would need about a tank and a half of gas so theres $75, plus 9 hours of traveling not courtly any stops for the bathroom, meals, rest etc. So I saved $25 and 5.5 hours by flying. I'd say It makes a lot of sense to travel by air.
Revelation From United States of America, joined Feb 2005, 10463 posts, RR: 20 Reply 7, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 7211 times:
Quoting flyfree727 (Reply 1): The lowest fare between NY and LA right now is $129 one way.. So 2500 miles for less than $130.
Not sure that can be used as the main data point, can it?
WildcatYXU From Canada, joined May 2006, 2435 posts, RR: 5 Reply 8, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7148 times:
Quoting Revelation (Reply 7): Not sure that can be used as the main data point, can it?
Probably not. However, Flyfree727 has a point. The OP is Italian. A hour long flight he mentioned would be what? FCO-FRA? There is no way he could do it in reasonable time and let's don't even talk about money. He would have to spend a price of a LCC ticket in highway tolls only. And where's the gasoline at 1.30 Euro per litre?
KingFriday013 From United States of America, joined May 2007, 1277 posts, RR: 10 Reply 9, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7141 times:
I'm a university student, and when it comes to traveling home for the holidays, I always choose to fly. At the beginning and end of the school year, my parents drive me because we need a vehicle to bring stuff to storage. But other than that, I solely travel by air. It's only a 6-7 hour drive from Rochester to New York City, so why do I fly? I have several reasons:
Price: Greyhound and Amtrak, honestly, aren't much cheaper. The average round trip ROC-NYC trip by air costs around $150. Greyhound is closer to $100, and Amtrak is $120. I can afford to travel by air, so I choose to. As for MegaBus... I have no easy way of getting to the location where it stops in Rochester. I'd end up spending a good $40 in taxis just getting to and from there, so it's not worth it.
Time: The direct flight time is 45 minutes to 1 hour, while the bus takes anywhere from 5 to 8 hours, and Amtrak 6 to 7 hours. Yes, security can easily take up to an hour in places like JFK, but in my experiences it's rarely taken that long. And even if it did, my travels wouldn't take more than 3 hours.
Experience: I, personally enjoy flying. I fly because I like to. Greyhound's new buses are very nice, and the free wi-fi and power outlets make it even better. Amtrak has power outlets from what I understand, and I hear traveling by train is usually enjoyable. But, in all honesty, I enjoy flying, and I'll choose it over any other mode of transport when it's an option. Additionally, some airports, such as the McNamara terminal in Detroit, are very nice, and I enjoy traveling through there.
Everyone else: Many people go home for the holidays, and many people also go to New York City -- like me. Originally, I thought traveling with friends would be fun -- until my first Thanksgiving, when I knew 30+ of the 50 passengers on my US Airways flight -- and they all knew each other. It's just very unpleasant having so many people talking, not to mention the loss of common sense when it comes to traveling (who knows why). I'd rather be stuck with them (and I say that with all seriousness) for as little time as possible. This is another one of the reasons why I try to fly via Detroit when the time and price permits.
All in all, traveling by air really isn't all that bad, compared to the other options!
flyfree727 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 572 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7086 times:
Quoting Revelation (Reply 7): Quoting flyfree727 (Reply 1):
The lowest fare between NY and LA right now is $129 one way.. So 2500 miles for less than $130.
Not sure that can be used as the main data point, can it?
Just as the OP comment can not be used as the main data point as the "norm" of flying.
It was an example. Many other examples exists as pointed out by the following:
Quoting dl767captain (Reply 6): I saved $25 and 5.5 hours by flying. I'd say It makes a lot of sense to travel by air
rfields5421 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 6150 posts, RR: 25 Reply 11, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7079 times:
I would vastly prefer to fly rather than drive if getting to my destination in a timely manner is important. If enjoying the trip is the goal - we drive and usually not over 350-400 miles per day. Side trips happen frequently when we see an interesting item/ sign.
But I have some rules. If it is not a business trip, I never fly on holidays. I never take a time critical flight - being prepared for delays which might happen. I plan my vacation/ personal trips with one extra day on return. That way if I am delayed, it's no big deal.
I don't fly much for business anymore - but I've never found a flight delay due to weather or aircraft maintenance issues caused any business problems being late. Most people in business fly a bit themselves and understand that these things happen.
When flying, folks have to understand that delays happen. Many of them can be avoided by learning about the airports visited and the airlines. There are some folks I won't fly with, and airports I avoid if at all possible. Even individual flights can be viewed as a warning thanks to stats available on-line about arrivals.
type-rated From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 4349 posts, RR: 20 Reply 12, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7070 times:
Time is money. The more time you spend traveling the more it costs you. Those hours spent in a bus, car or train are hours you'll never see again.
Fly North Central Airlines..The route of the Northliners!
noelg From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 13, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 20 hours ago) and read 7038 times:
Quoting WildcatYXU (Reply 8): Probably not. However, Flyfree727 has a point. The OP is Italian. A hour long flight he mentioned would be what? FCO-FRA? There is no way he could do it in reasonable time and let's don't even talk about money. He would have to spend a price of a LCC ticket in highway tolls only. And where's the gasoline at 1.30 Euro per litre?
Same goes here. Driving in Europe is a breeze compared to the UK, but to get to Amsterdam for example is an 8 hour drive plus a 2 hour ferry across the Channel from here. Train is 5-6 hours but costs around £200/$350. The car ferry isn't much cheaper. Plus petrol is currently £5.50/$8.50 per gallon.
Flying costs around £50-£60 ($90-$100) and takes around 30 minutes flight time.
Even within the UK, driving up to Scotland from the Midlands takes at least 6 hours and about £100 in fuel. Flying is about £30-£40 and takes an hour. However domestic UK flights only really head up to Scotland, so the rest of the country is generally by train, which is ridiculously expensive
DocLightning From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 16819 posts, RR: 57 Reply 14, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 6977 times:
Quoting dl767captain (Reply 6): When's the last time you had a horrible experience at the airport that would make you consider driving? Let's look at my SAN-SFO flight. $50 one way, it's roughly a 1 hour flight, get to the airport 2 hours before, and let say 30 mins to get to the curb. So for $50 I spent 3.5 hours traveling one way.
Until SFO has a standard three-hour delay for any fog and you spend 6.5 hours traveling to SFO, plus baggage is another hour, now it's 7.5, plus another .5 to get from airport to destination and if you'd driven, you would have your car with you.
I recently was delayed on a SBA-SFO flight. So get to the airport 30 minutes early plus the 30 minute drive. 1 hour. 1 hour flight. 30 minutes to get home. 2.5 hours. With the 3 hour delay, it became 5.5 hours and I can drive that fast.
RamblinMan From United States of America, joined Oct 2010, 1081 posts, RR: 1 Reply 15, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago) and read 6929 times:
Quoting dl767captain (Reply 6): When's the last time you had a horrible experience at the airport that would make you consider driving?
Earlier this week. I can easily drive from NE Mississippi to Atlanta in 5 hours, but flying MKL-BNA-ATL on a Pacific Wings Caravan took 8, door-to-door, and gave me a headache. However, I didn't really have a choice as it was the middle leg of a triangle-trip, so I didn't have a car- and driving the final leg from Atlanta to Chicago would have really sucked.
I'll often drive to Tennessee because flying is kind of a hassle, but I've also flown it purely to save money- especially back when you could snag a roundtrip on WN for less than $100 all-in.
Agreed on all points. There's no right or wrong answer- there's a lot of factors to consider when taking a trip. I consider myself fortunate to have so many options out of Chicago...two airports (plus MKE is worth it if you can save some dough), Megabus to various points around the Midwest, and several rail lines.
dl767captain From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 2539 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6861 times:
Quoting DocLightning (Reply 14): Until SFO has a standard three-hour delay for any fog and you spend 6.5 hours traveling to SFO, plus baggage is another hour, now it's 7.5, plus another .5 to get from airport to destination and if you'd driven, you would have your car with you.
Even if that was the case I'd rather fly than sit in the car. Plus if fog is that bad then driving will be slower as well.
bluewhale18210 From United States of America, joined Aug 2006, 230 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6828 times:
Quoting flyfree727 (Reply 1): Anyone out there every driving it and kept of log of the expenses? Just curious what the comparson would be.
AA ORD
SEA-MEM took me 5 days...I could have done it in 3 but that would really rush us.
Hotel accomodations: $350 (cheap motels by the freeway)
Meals $200
Gas $120 (Prius)
2000 miles driven.
It's not as bad compared to a full Y fare for 2 but I get to carry more stuff this way. Usually I couldn't afford the time though.
JPS on A300-600RF A319/320 B737-400/800 B757-200F B767-300F CRJ-200/900. Looking to add more.
sw733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 18, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6799 times:
Quoting bluewhale18210 (Reply 17):
SEA-MEM took me 5 days...I could have done it in 3 but that would really rush us.
Hotel accomodations: $350 (cheap motels by the freeway)
Meals $200
Gas $120 (Prius)
2000 miles driven.
It's not as bad compared to a full Y fare for 2 but I get to carry more stuff this way. Usually I couldn't afford the time though.
What about factoring things in such as depreciation of the automobile, oil and maintenance, etc. Every little thing adds money...people forget to factor those things in to driving costs.
PITingres From United States of America, joined Dec 2007, 958 posts, RR: 12 Reply 19, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 6761 times:
For any trip that takes less than 3 hours by car, driving is a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. 3 to 5, it depends, but I'll probably drive. Over 5 hours, which is very roughly a 500 mile radius, I'll probably fly unless the airfare is very high.
Flying *is* much more of a hassle than it needs to be, in general, and pooh-pooh'ing the annoyances is not being very constructive. (Nor is exaggerating them, of course.)
HNLPointShoot From United States of America, joined Feb 2007, 276 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 6628 times:
Where I live, the only practical way to enter or exit any of the counties in the whole state is by air.
rikkus67 From Canada, joined Jun 2000, 1464 posts, RR: 2 Reply 21, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 5277 times:
Although it's been years since I have flown the route, YQL to YYC (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada to Calgary, AB, CAN)... in my case it would be more convenient to drive.
Cheapest flight during the day: $119.00 one way (without taxes)
Airport Parking: $15.00/day
Taxi to DT YYC: $50.00+/-
Flight duration: 45 minutes
total time from terminal to terminal: 2.5 to 3 hours (check-in time @ departure + picking up baggage @ arrival)
Full tank of gas: $60- $70.00
Drive time DT YQL to DT YYC: 2 - 2.5 hours (slightly above the speed limit of 110 km/hr... driving on flat prairie the entire route))
I spend as much one way on the above route, as compared to going from YYC to YVR (Calgary to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada). In the YYC* to YVR* scenario, the flight time is only 15 minutes longer, but the drive time is appx. 10 - 12 hours - mostly Mountain pass driving).
It's all relative...
( Oh, a bit of Olympic history: YYC - 1988 Olympic Winter Games, YVR - 2010 Olympic Winter Games)
Cessna 172; King Air 100; Twin Otter; SAAB 340; Dash 7; Dash 8-100,-200,-300,-400; CRJ-200,700,900; ERJ-170; F-28; DC 9-
n92r03 From United States of America, joined Jan 2010, 250 posts, RR: 0 Reply 22, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 5117 times:
PITingress-
I could not have said it better myself. Agreed 100%.
sccutler From United States of America, joined Jan 2000, 5091 posts, RR: 28 Reply 23, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 5088 times:
The distressing theme I see is the increased acceptance of the ludicrous and utterly ineffective measures taken by the TSA, in the name of "security," as normal.
It ain't normal; it's a bureaucracy, busy building itself up. The TSA is like SkyNet - it has become self-aware, self-perpetuating.
I dearly love flying, but the whole process of commercial air travel has become so repugnant that I fly commercial only under great duress; I have the exceptional good fortune, as well, of being able to fly myself, and on trips of less than 600NM, I can usually beat the best an airline can do, time-wise, even if it's non-stop. With two or more butts-in-seats, I usually beat the cost, as well, and if it's a trip without sufficient advance notice to buy tickets at a discount (which encompasses most business travel), I can often beat the cost, in my own plane, flying alone.
Honestly measured, most trips of less than 300 miles are faster by car.
...three miles from BRONS, clear for the ILS one five approach...
jgw787 From United States of America, joined Dec 2010, 204 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (2 years 4 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 5037 times:
I can see not flying in Europe because of the trains...but here in America we don't have the train systems like Europe so flying is the only option if you don't want to spend hours in the car.
25 brilondon: For this thread I can see his point. It is just an example. I have another example which I use to do when I lived in Canada. I would have to regularl
26 jgarrido: Where I live driving can only get you so far...and it's not very far at that.
27 jwenting: the last time I took an aircraft. And the time before that too. As it is, I've decided to not visit the US again until the TSA is disbanded and 'secu
28 GCT64: After 10 years of commuting (almost) weekly between London and Scotland, I can categorically say that, with the exception of one occassion*, flying al
29 Quokka: I live on the west coast of an island - a big island. To get from one side of the island to the other takes four to five days driving, a bit over two
30 viv: Airline flying is just plain boring. Flying with Ryanair is just plain tedious and boring. I prefer my car.
31 skygirl1990: I assume we are ignoring International travel in this thread?
32 brilondon: You may just have bad luck. I travel quite often and (knock on wood) rarely come across the security nightmare that is perpetuated by the media. Ditt
33 Cubsrule: It depends. Many people in my office travel a fair amount to Memphis, about 210 miles downtown to downtown. Here's the time calculus: Driving: Roughl
34 EWRkid1990: Mostly, and correct me if I'm wrong here, because it is quite impossible to traverse the Atlantic/Pacific/Indian Oceans via car, bus or train.
35 thrufru: Gee, I'm not sure how fast you drive, but 500 miles in the US generally takes closer to 8 or 9 hours. If you're in the northeast corridor between Bos
36 md80fanatic: Of course it's cheaper to fly. Who the hell would put up with the horrendous treatment -and- pay more? The only thing keeping flying as a viable trave
37 KGRB: Quite true. In the litteral sense of "time is money," I only have a limited amount of paid vacation from my employer. I usually use all of it to visi
38 2H4: The answer is this - below a certain distance, it makes more sense to use other means of transportation. Above a certain distance, air travel makes t
39 Quokka: I was, even allowing for the fact that I live on an island, as opposed to NZ which has two main islands. OK, I admit Tasmania is another island. But
40 PITingres: You are right, of course. Brain fart. I didn't think the number looked right when I wrote it. The correct radius would be more like 275 miles. Pittsb
41 Cubsrule: Yup, and in terms of business travel, some of us bill for the time spent traveling unless we are working on something else, and that can make flying
42 Aesma: My parents, brother and his gf, and sister spent Christmas in Italy where my grandma lives, they made the 1200Km trip by car, one day each way (actual
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Price: Greyhound and Amtrak, honestly, aren't much cheaper. The average round trip ROC-NYC trip by air costs around $150. Greyhound is closer to $100, and Amtrak is $120. I can afford to travel by air, so I choose to. As for MegaBus... I have no easy way of getting to the location where it stops in Rochester. I'd end up spending a good $40 in taxis just getting to and from there, so it's not worth it.
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