Author Topic: Driving Vs Airplane  (Read 8263 times)

halfstepdown88

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Driving Vs Airplane
« on: June 28, 2012, 01:08:17 PM »
I'm going to stay in Las Vegas from August 19-26.  I was going to just drive, but realized flying might actually be a better choice.

I drive a 2000 Toyota Tacoma with 190,000 miles on it.

A drive round trip to my destination is 850 miles.  My truck averages 20 miles per gallon (on the freeway that long I might get 21 or 22).
850/20=42.5 Gallons.
Average price of Gasoline right now is $3.50
$3.50*42.5 = 148.75 rounded up to $150 in gas.

Driving Cost = $150 in gas, adding 850 miles to my truck. 13 Hours of my time spent driving.
Airplane Ticket = $190, 2 hours of my time.  Possible Taxi fee to get to hotel, although there might be a free shuttle.

My hotel would offer complimentary parking, so there would be no added costs there.  I am fine with walking around Las Vegas, so wouldn't really need my truck once I'm there.

What would you guys do?  I'm leaning towards the Airplane route.

$_gone_amok

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #1 on: June 28, 2012, 01:53:27 PM »
I'm going to Vegas this July and I'm flying. I just can't justify wasting 10 hours driving. 

jpo

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2012, 01:56:06 PM »
I would definitely fly. 11 extra hours spent for $40 gain is not a good trade.

Plus you could get really unlucky and have your transmission go out 500 miles into the trip.

JohnGalt

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2012, 01:57:38 PM »
I'm definitely in the flying camp too - drives like that just aren't worth it if you don't need your vehicle at the destination.  However, when evaluating the time difference, make sure that you consider the total time involved in air travel such as travel to the airport, waiting for the flight, waiting for luggage (not to mention paying for checked bags), risk of delay/cancelation, etc. in addition to the actual flight time. 

halfstepdown88

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2012, 01:59:41 PM »
Yes you guys are right.

Sometimes I forget to realize that time is a resource, if not even more valuable than money.

I'll book a flight.  Makes much more sense.


I also can fit everything I need in a backpack, so checked bags won't be a problem.

tannybrown

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #5 on: June 28, 2012, 02:01:54 PM »
Just to play devil's advocate, flying is apparently much worse for the environment as it takes a lot of energy to lift several tons of metal off the ground and fly through the air.  Also, road trips are cool.

Mrs MM

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #6 on: June 28, 2012, 02:07:39 PM »
Personally, I prefer to drive if I have the time.  The airport is more stressful and unpredictable for me.  On this last flight, we ended up having problems yet again with delayed flights and a stressful transfer where there was a high chance of having to spend the night in Detroit.  Meanwhile, MMM drove, met a bunch of great people, experienced some new cities, and had a great time.  If you're driving with someone, it's a great time to talk and really connect with someone.

But with a kid, it's sometimes easier to just get there faster, but overall, I prefer to drive when traveling.

I think it's better Environmentally too, but I'm not sure...

tooqk4u22

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #7 on: June 28, 2012, 02:16:44 PM »
Just to play devil's advocate, flying is apparently much worse for the environment as it takes a lot of energy to lift several tons of metal off the ground and fly through the air.  Also, road trips are cool.

Not so sure if this is the case, unless you are talking about private jets.  If 200 people drove 850 miles round trip as opposed to flying I think it is possible the driving would be worse - especially in a gas guzzling tacoma.  Ignoring the environmental impact the time/savings ratio is definitely not worth it and almost never is for longer trips for just one person.   

But road trips are definitely cool.

tannybrown

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #8 on: June 28, 2012, 02:25:34 PM »
I just recall that from No Impact Man.  Google found this, for what it's worth...

http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/fly_vs_drive.htm

mechanic baird

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #9 on: June 28, 2012, 03:51:45 PM »

Sometimes I forget to realize that time is a resource, if not even more valuable than money.


right on, when you don't have the time, time is more valuable than money... When you are like MMM family with all the time in the hands, driving sounds fun..

keith

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #10 on: June 28, 2012, 05:05:53 PM »
Personally, I prefer to drive if I have the time.  The airport is more stressful and unpredictable for me.  On this last flight, we ended up having problems yet again with delayed flights and a stressful transfer where there was a high chance of having to spend the night in Detroit.  Meanwhile, MMM drove, met a bunch of great people, experienced some new cities, and had a great time.  If you're driving with someone, it's a great time to talk and really connect with someone.

But with a kid, it's sometimes easier to just get there faster, but overall, I prefer to drive when traveling.

I think it's better Environmentally too, but I'm not sure...

Totally this...

The stress/anxiety from the airport kills me. I hate every aspect of being there. Love the freedom of driving in a road trip, cranking the music, being able to make stops when I want to, etc.

bdub

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #11 on: June 28, 2012, 08:58:37 PM »
Just to play devil's advocate, flying is apparently much worse for the environment as it takes a lot of energy to lift several tons of metal off the ground and fly through the air.  Also, road trips are cool.

The plane is flying to Vegas with or without the OP.  The additional environmental impact is restricted solely to how much extra fuel will be used to move him/her up to 35K feet and back down again.  Also, if the OP really wants to do there part, they can buy some carbon offsets.

On a side note, I used to drive a '00 Tacoma TRD Prerunner.  I took it on a couple of 1000+ miles road trips.  Not the most comfortable road-tripper.

Jamesqf

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #12 on: June 29, 2012, 12:10:17 AM »
I would drive, because the stress level surrounding commercial flight is just too much for me to deal with for anything much short of life-or-death emergencies.  But of course this is a personal matter, and if the trip to Las Vegas is voluntary, it's likely that you have a higher tolerance for such than I.

One thing to consider is the possible places to visit en route.  You don't say where you are coming from, but most routes will pass some interesting country.

Also, walking around Las Vegas in August is asking for heat stroke.  It's not just the outdoor heat, though that's pretty bad itself, it's the shock of going between the outdoors and the 60-degree A/C in the casinos & hotels.

igthebold

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #13 on: June 29, 2012, 06:33:29 AM »
The plane is flying to Vegas with or without the OP.  The additional environmental impact is restricted solely to how much extra fuel will be used to move him/her up to 35K feet and back down again.  Also, if the OP really wants to do there part, they can buy some carbon offsets.

I actually don't disagree completely with your reasoning, but I might point out that this is a case of the tragedy of the commons. Yes, what you say is correct, but the sum total of 300 or so correct decisions leads to another flight plan being scheduled, ending up with more environmental impact. As always, things are more complex than the rhetoric states when environmental things are concerned.

However, in this case, the time argument alone is the clincher for me. Even given my extreme dislike of the TSA and its practices.

tooqk4u22

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #14 on: June 29, 2012, 07:07:26 AM »
Personally, I prefer to drive if I have the time.  The airport is more stressful and unpredictable for me.  On this last flight, we ended up having problems yet again with delayed flights and a stressful transfer where there was a high chance of having to spend the night in Detroit.  Meanwhile, MMM drove, met a bunch of great people, experienced some new cities, and had a great time.  If you're driving with someone, it's a great time to talk and really connect with someone.

But with a kid, it's sometimes easier to just get there faster, but overall, I prefer to drive when traveling.

I think it's better Environmentally too, but I'm not sure...

Totally this...

The stress/anxiety from the airport kills me. I hate every aspect of being there. Love the freedom of driving in a road trip, cranking the music, being able to make stops when I want to, etc.

Airports can be stressfull especially if you insist on rushing, but it is also stressful when your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere driving cross country...It happened to me once and god forbid you don't know anything about cars.  A long drive is not worth the time if it is only a one week trip especially for one person.

If it was longer then road trips are awesome. 

palvar

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #15 on: June 29, 2012, 07:57:13 AM »
Don't forget the impact of 850 miles of driving on your car.  If you just take the federal reimbursement rate of $0.555/mile (which includes gas) it would be much cheaper to fly.

grantmeaname

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #16 on: June 29, 2012, 09:09:07 AM »
Yeah. Intuitively, 850 miles is 3% the life of a set of tires, and a third of an oil change, and 2 or 3% of the life of the brake pads.

menorman

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #17 on: June 29, 2012, 11:15:26 PM »
Yeah. Intuitively, 850 miles is 3% the life of a set of tires, and a third of an oil change, and 2 or 3% of the life of the brake pads.
Why change the oil at 3000 miles at all, but especially after an all-highway trip? Same goes for your estimate of brake usage. I take it they won't be driving with two feet, there shouldn't be much usage of the brakes during the trip unless it includes high percentage of mountain driving. Road trips that involve lots of highway driving are some of the best ways to use a car.

darkelenchus

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #18 on: June 30, 2012, 08:02:19 AM »
I prefer the train, overall. It's slower than a plane, but rarely runs into complications of delays. It's usually a bit faster than driving (at least for the places we've traveled to), and takes out the stress involved in controlling a vehicle. I doubt trains go to Vegas from many places, though.

Bakari

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Re: Driving Vs Airplane
« Reply #19 on: June 30, 2012, 09:32:32 AM »
Put up an ad on a ride sharing board, and/or Craigslist, find 3-4 people who are headed that way at the same time, have them split the gas between them, and travel for free (except increased maintenance due to miles).

My girlfriend got from SF CA to VA that way last year, and as a bonus, had other drivers to switch out with, so you can spend some time reading or sleeping or whatever.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!