I have been to Rapid City four or five times — always in winter and/or on business. And I’ve always flown. My husband and I are planning a long weekend there soon, but we are driving. We dismissed the notion of getting to the airport, waiting at the airport, flying, renting a car, returning the car and flying then home — with the trip bracketed by the airline’s timetable. It’s 295 miles to Gillette, Wyoming, where we’ll spend spend one night, visit Devil’s Tower National Monument the next morning and then cross the state line to South Dakota. We’ll spend two nights in Rapid City and do some hiking in the Black Hills, say hello to the Presidents at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, visit the Crazy Horse Memorial, perhaps go to one of the caverns under National Park Service protection and then drive home — 300 miles.
George Hobica of AirFareWatchdog.com compared the cost of flying versus driving on popular summer routes. He used $4-per-gallon price in a vehicle that average 25 miles per gallon. He wrote, “We considered the total ‘wear and tear’ cost (you know, tires, oil, insurance, all that stuff) calculated with the 2011 IRS allowance of 51 cents per mile. We didn’t include things such as airport parking fees, tolls, value of frequent flyer miles you’d earn by flying, hotel costs while on the road (you’re not planning on sleeping in the Town and Country are you?), and Happy Meals. And of course, you have to consider checked bag fees, how many people are in the car, TSA aggravation, and that sort of thing.” He devised this chart to help people compare:
Hobica noted, “we examined a few popular summer routes across the country and calculated costs road vs. air, taking into account the new national average fuel price of about $4 per gallon and an average 25 miles per gallon of gas. We also considered the total “wear and tear” cost (you know, tires, oil, insurance, all that stuff) calculated with the 2011 IRS allowance of 51 cents per mile. We didn’t include things such as airport parking fees, tolls, value of frequent flyer miles you’d earn by flying, hotel costs while on the road (you’re not planning on sleeping in the Town and Country are you?), and Happy Meals. And of course, you have to consider checked bag fees, how many people are in the car, TSA aggravation, and that sort of thing. But what we found was that on many routes, assuming just one person flying vs. one person driving, flying is still much cheaper, and on some routes, even with two or three people in the car, flying still wins.”
Not for us. Not for this trip. For two people, driving makes all kinds of sense – both economic and practical — since we will split the driving. Besides, Sylvia the Silver Subaru gets 30+ miles per gallon of highway driving, and gas prices have dropped below $4 a gallon – and even if they hadn’t, rental cars burn gas too. Still, I found Hobica’s comparisons useful. After all, my next domestic trip might be solo
Chart is fun and useful. I like driving in the West between cities where the road is wide-open like the sky. That’s something you don’t factor on a chart but helps the equation.
I teach skiing, and many of my clients from Missouri and Texas now drive, instead of flying. Usually, there are 2 – 4 people in the car. When driving, they avoid the expensive ski baggage fees.
I mostly drive in the continental US, so that I have my car at the destination.