Driving vs flying

[Rhineg]

It seems flying is becoming more and more challenging. Are we having more problems with our air travels, Including safety? It seems like it. iSo I’m asking again the question of would you prefer to drive in your even more comfortable cybertruck in a trip similar to a Houston to Colorado trip. Our recent flight to Rio had a problem with the engine that could not be fixed until the next morning some 12 hours later. Got me to thinking about driving vs. flying (not Rio of course) again.
So in consideration of the following:
Drive time to airport parking lot through Houston traffic
waiting for shuttle and schlepting the bags onto shuttle
Shuttle to the terminal with stopping for all the others to get on the shuttle
schelpting bags oneself more to check in
waiting through the TSA inspection
Waiting to board
waiting on plane at the gate
waiting in line of planes to take off
waiting to deplane
waiting for baggge to be unloaded at carousel
schlepting the bags onto a shuttle for the rent car
waiting for an agent at rent car place
schlepting the bags to the rent car
be confused about how to get out of the airport

Whew! that’s a lot of schlepting and waiting
what do y’all think about it? Have you figured out a maximum drive vs. fly distance?

With fuel prices and airline ticket prices and TSA wait times going through the roof, that maximum distance keeps extending. Even before the recent fuel costs, I included Amtrak as a potential alternative, since I could work on the train with power and wifi.

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[Cybertruck2024]

If you consider depreciation expense, especially on a more expensive vehicle, driving can become much more expensive.

Now the subjective part is what is the value of your time. Are you someone who has a high income and time wasted is money wasted? Or are you someone who is retired?

I have been to all 50 states. My rule to count a state was I need to spend the night and I need to do at least one thing unique to the state or of cultural importance. In most states I have done way more than this. The issue for me became the first 10 hours of the trip, I have been everywhere in an 10 mile radius of my house a hundred times. By flying over that part of the trip, I now start in someplace more fresh to me, now the road trip begins in a rental car.

If I was retired and had a specific road trip vehicle I didn't mind putting miles on because it was dependable and not depreciating quickly, I may change my approach. For now (1) time is money and (2) the quicker I approach 50k miles, the more likely I need to pay a PCS bill out of pocket.

 

[REM]

I definitley prefer to drive no matter the time or distance. After I retire next year I’ll probably cross to other continents by sailboat. @REM are you prior military using MAC flights? I might use those occasionally too.

yessir! 🫡

I never did get to take any of the boomers out for a ride-along. Hook me up with a spare seat! haha

 

[DanK]

With FSD, prefer driving over flying coast to coast. Have made 9 FSD trips between FL and CA.

 

[Gaximus]

My max drive is 12 hours-14 hours. And then a ratio of how long I’ll be at location. I’ll drive 14 hours if I’ll be there for a week or more, but not if I’ll be there for just a weekend. If If I’m traveling to “be” at a place, as in the reason for the travel is to be at the location, then I should be there longer, than the time it takes getting there.

 

[boley]

Now with FSD and the CT, 10 hours or more of driving I start considering flight. But the distance to my airport adds about 90 minutes which easily gets me 100 miles closer to my destination. Once unsupervised FSD works and is legal, I think only oceans to cross will make me want to fly.

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