Is flying less expensive than driving?

griff390

Is taking your plane on a trip less expensive than driving? Depending on your aircraft, the number of passengers, and the distance of the trip, it may be less expensive to fly yourself than to drive or take a commercial flight.

The numbers below are not hypothetical, they are from a real trip to Rapid City, SD from the Chicago area (DPA to RAP), where my wife and I enjoyed 3 days touring Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer St. Park, and included a stop at Wall Drug. I have updated the numbers to reflect current fuel and food costs, but proportionally, they were the same 6 years ago when we made the trip.

The cost of fuel alone favored driving by a 2 to 1 margin, but in order to make a fair comparison, all factors must be considered. Google specs the drive at 13.25 hours, but that number only takes into account the driving time, and does not include stops for fuel, food, bio breaks, construction slowdowns, rush hour, traffic congestion, etc. We met numerous people at Mt. Rushmore who were also from the Chicago area, and their drive times ranged from 16-18 hours. All of them broke the trip up over 2 days. A small airplane can make the trip in well under a day, which means 2 less nights in a motel, 2 less work days lost per person, and 12 fewer meals. When all the factors are included, the cost of the trip favors flying by a wide margin. If we didn't lose any work days, the cost of flying vs. driving is nearly identical, but by flying, we enjoy 18 hours less travel time.

There will be a break even point for time and cost on every trip whether you fly yourself, drive, or take a commercial flight. For my PA28-161, I have found that if a trip is greater than 1,500 NM (round trip), it's generally faster and less expensive to fly commercially. The break even point depends on your aircraft, the number of people you are carrying, and the price of the commercial flight. Don't forget that items like skis or golf clubs will cost you $75 each way on most commercial carriers, so just the cost of transporting 2 sets of clubs alone (not including our airfare) would nearly pay for all the Avgas on the trip below. You have to do the math and also determine if time or expense is most important to you. If it's an option, I'll always choose flying my plane over driving or a commercial flight.

Speaking of math, I have this cost comparison calculator in an Excel spreadsheet. If anyone would like it for trip planning, just ask, and I'll be happy to post it.


Cost comparison driving vs. flying - Chicago, IL to Rapid City, SD, round trip.

FUEL	Driving	Flying
Avg cost fuel/gal	$2.10	$3.53
Miles round trip	1,784.0 SM	1,328.0 NM
MPG/GPH	23.0 MPG	8.0 GPH
Avg speed	60 MPH	110 NM/H
Travel time (r/t)	29.7 HRS	12.1 HRS
Fuel required	77.6 GAL	96.6 GAL
FUEL SUBTOTAL	$162.89	$340.93

LODGING/MEALS	Driving	Flying
Hotel cost/night	$140.00	$140.00
Nights in hotel	4	2
Avg meal cost	$12.00	$12.00
Number of meals/day	3	3
Number of people	2	2
HOTEL/MEAL SUBTOTAL	$632.00	$352.00

MISC	Driving	Flying
Tolls	$6.50	$0
Rental car	$0	$108.00
Gas for rental car	$0	$15.00
Tie down/ramp fees	$0	$24.00
MISC SUBTOTAL	$6.50	$147.00

LOST WAGES	Driving	Flying
Man hours lost	48	16
Avg $ per man hr	$40.00	$40.00
LOST WAGES SUBTOTAL	$1,920.00	$640.00

TOTAL COST	Driving	Flying
	$2,721.39	$1,479.93

Scott Sherer

Wow, you did a great job! I'm reading through now.

allsportster

Very nice work! If you could link/send that spreadsheet, I would love to look at it. I already sent the link to this post to my wife.

griff390

Scott and allsportster, thank you.

The most difficult and time consuming part was setting up the tables to display properly in HTML format!

I know a lot of spouses are conscious about the cost of flying vs. driving. I did not realize how close the numbers were, or that flying can actually save you money until I developed the spreadsheet. I am attaching the spreadsheet to this post. Enjoy, and use it to your advantage!

If you have any questions about the spreadsheet or usage, post them here. I'll be happy to assist.

PS - My wife and I travel frequently to MI. If we take her Nissan (good gas mileage), the difference in cost is $21 in favor of the car, but the plane is faster by 4 hours each way. I'll pay $21 to save 4 hrs. any day. If we take my truck (gas mileage not as good), the plane is not only faster, it's less expensive. Still amazes me that a Warrior attains the equivalent of 17 mpg while traveling nearly 140 mph.

allsportster

Thanks for the spreadsheet! I will definitely use this in the future.

As your numbers show, the work time and money lost is such a huge factor on these calculations. I live in CO and everywhere seems far! Driving is always 4+hrs to get anywhere out of the state; and even commercial flight times and costs add up quickly. Travelling to a large airport (typically farther than the small airports) and having to be there 2hrs early for parking and security can really add up. I think your break-even distance of 1500NM is very similar for my Saratoga - unless I am making a trip with multiple planned stops.

As you say, we will always make an excuse to take the plane over any other transportation method.

jjouscg01@yahoo.com

Good job on the comparison spreadsheet. We all know that travel by private plane beats the airlines every time,(considering the fun and convenience factor) but if you need to justify flying, airlines, or driving, then your spreadsheet is the way to justify the decision.

mcm3m@comcast.net

You may also wish to include variable maintenance expense comparison as well....

griff390

Thank you everyone for your kind comments.

mcm3m, that's a very interesting topic. I have an airplane cost of ownership spreadsheet, but it doesn't compare airplane mx to a car/truck.

The common opinion is that a car/truck is cheaper to maintain, but the gap is closing. You can purchase a good used 4 seater airplane for what you now pay for a nice SUV/truck ($35K - $50K). Have your vehicle transmission rebuilt/replaced, and the price ranges from $1,100 to over $6,000 with an average around $2,800. The price of a decent mid range tire for either a car or airplane is nearly identical. The good news for airplane owners is that the tail dragger guys only need to buy 2 main tires, while us nose dragger guys have to buy 3, but we're still buying less tires than a car. In the Midwest, the going shop rate for vehicles is about $100 to $120/hr while airplane shop time is around $60 to $70/hr. However, we pay more for airplane parts (way more), and airplanes generally take longer to fix, so there's a trade-off.

By far, the biggest cost of airplane ownership is fuel. Nothing else comes close. For the first 10 years or so of ownership, we kept meticulous track of all costs. Fuel composed roughly 83% of the total cost of flying, and overshadowed everything else including a new engine! It makes sense because fuel is the one thing that must constantly be replaced. Quick example: suppose your plane burns 9 gal/hr. In 2,000 hours, you'll burn 18,000 gallons of fuel, and at the current price (about $3.75/gal.), the fuel cost is $67,500. The cost of your avgas will cover an engine overhaul, all glass avionics upgrade, and a new interior, with thousands left over.

Harley Kleemann

Driving may be cheaper, but flying is a LOT more fun!!!

mcm3m@comcast.net

I fly an Aztec on a progressive maintenance schedule, about 200 hrs/yr. In my case variable maintenance averages $115/hr. Add to that engine and prop reserves of $36/hr the total comes in at $151/hr. $ aside, I agree that flying is much more fun!

griff390

Harley, flying is DEFINITELY more fun and always will be! The spreadsheet proves that flying can be LESS expensive than driving as well. Double bonus my friend!

I'm sure the money saved by flying instead of driving would then be used to purchase important items like a good steak, single malt Scotch, Bourbon, Irish Whiskey, etc.

griff390

mcm3m; Wow, you're doing a great job on breaking down your hourly rate. Aztec's are beautiful planes. What year is yours?

mcm3m@comcast.net

1967 "C" model...

Harley Kleemann

The Aztec is a neat ol' bird!

griff390

Agree with Harley, beautiful bird!