…Especially if you have the time to drive the distance.
My brother-in-law and his wife moved about 5 states further away than they used to be and want my wife and me to visit. They’ve offered to pay for air tickets. In the past I’d had no problem with flying, but now with all the waiting and problems with lost luggage and the restrictions, etc. I’m thinking I’d rather drive.
So, other than getting to your destination quicker (maybe) is there anything to recommend flying?
It is still very hard to drive to Hawaii.
Your chance of dying is much greater driving than flying. If you work all day and then have to drive 5-7 hours IMHO you chance of getting into an accident is much much greater than if you let the pilot drive while you catch a few winks in the back.
So yes it can be worth the hassle.
Flying these days is a pain, a hassle, a nuisance, an annoyance, and a demonstration of the american flying public’s willingness to be docile sheep and put up with nonsensical procedures that don’t make us any safer.
But none of that precludes me from flying when I really want to get someplace I can’t drive to in 5 or 6 hours.
I fly direct nonstop whenever possible. I encounter far too many airports where you have to leave the secure zone to catch your next flight on the other concourse, and go thru the damn security screening process all over again.
It’s really not that much of a hassle to me. Have you flown much since 9/11? I think that people who are not regular flyers assume it is much more of a hassle than it is. My “flying lifetime” is quickly approaching 50% post-9/11, and I can’t say as I get too nostalgaic for the “good old days”.
Pack knowing what you need to show the TSA, wear slip-on shoes, and check in online, and most of the hassle is removed. You may still have a wait, but even at the notorious O’Hare I have not had any delays to write home about. If I get there two hours ahead I always have a relaxing hour or so to wait for the plane to board.
I agree with stolichnaya. You can do plenty to alleviate the hassle, just by being organized and prepared. On-line check-in and those self-serve kiosks that most airlines have these days actually make a big difference all by themselves. Some things you can’t control, like flight delays and those horribly cramped coach seats, but cross-country driving is no picnic, either.
It depends. It really depends.
Bring a book to read, or a book of cross word puzzles, or something else to entertain you, and a large dollop of patience. And make sure those slip-on shoes are good for walking (if you have to change planes, you will either have just barely enough time to hustle to your next plane, or else enough time that you can walk the entire length of the concourse and back). Bring more cash than it ought to require to buy food in the airport–you are a captive audience and they know it–not that security requirements and other stuff may not be a factor as well. Be prepared for one or more of your flights to be late, and information to be scarce.
But, if you are traveling a long distance, say more than 12 hours, flying should get you there sooner, and allow you more time to enjoy your destination. Though of course, just how far into the middle of nowhere you are flying makes a difference as well.
It’s worth it if your only alternative is Amtrak.
Even if you have a popped eardrum, and you’re deathly afraid of heights.
Trust me.
Depends on the length of the trip, the amount of time available, and the purpose of the trip.
It takes me slightly more than three hours to drive from my front door to the Vegas strip, a trip I tend to make two or three times per year. My friends think I’m crazy for not flying. “It’s only a 45-minute flight!” they cry. Yeah, 45 minutes in the air, an unknown amount of time to account for potential flight delays before we get in the air, the time it takes to drive to the airport, the time it takes to deal with security, the time it takes to wait for luggage, and the time it takes to rent a car (I don’t take taxis in Vegas because I don’t have any trouble navigating the alternative roads to the Strip). It is WELL worth it to me to drive.
If I had to get to the East Coast, it would depend on why I was going. If I had lots and lots of free time (say, a couple of weeks), I’m sure I’d drive just to enjoy the experience and do some spontaneous exploring along the way. If I only had a week, I’d rather fly and enjoy my time wherever my destination was.
For me, the biggest advantage that flying offers is that I almost always reach a point at the end of my vacation where I just want to be home. And flying obviously accomplishes that a lot faster.
A day wasted is a day wasted I figure.
I drive everywhere due to the high cost of flying but once, when the company was going to fly me to a city 7 hours away, I just drove. It’s so much easier than dealing with all the airport/airplane crapola.
I looked at Amtrak once, except for the extra time, it was very economical.
I’ll drive up to about 6 hours, beyond that it’s going to be flying. Depending on how far, driving and flying can take about the same time when you factor in the recommended wait time, travel time to the airport, time to get your luggage etc.
Like from here to Vegas, the actual flight time is just over an hour. But, I have a 45-60 minute drive to LAX depending on traffic, needing to be there at least an hour ahead of the flight and so on. I can drive there in about 4 hours. It just isn’t time or cost effective to fly there.
I fly on all business trips, but typically the drive for those are more on the level of several hours or more, so it makes sense. Plus I freaking hate driving non-locally; I would much rather be sitting down and waiting than trying to drive, trying to figure out where I’m going, etc.
I don’t see it as a significant hassle. I know how to pack and what to do at security, plus I always got to airports about 2 hours early anyway so this “omg you have to be there so early!” complaining doesn’t mean anything to me.
There are several variables. Time, cost and stress.
For time, you can probably drive a 60 mph, but you also have to stop to sleep, eat, and pee.
But in an airplane, you’ve got two hours on either end of your flight that are just dead, eaten up by getting on the plane, getting through security, getting your bags, and so on. Then add the flight time. If the flight time plus 4 hours is less than the drive time, then it’s faster to fly.
Then cost, you’ve got gas, food, lodging, depreciation on your car, chance of wrecking your car, chance of falling asleep at the wheel and crossing the median and waking up dead, vs the cost of the ticket and possibly a rental car and transport to and from the airport on both ends.
Then the stress. If you’re driving in a rainstorm, through heavy traffic, through an industrial wasteland, or what have you, that’s a factor. If you’re claustrophobic, have a fear of heights, or have control issues, that’s another. Some people find driving relaxing and fun. Others find it tiring and stressful.
So figure out how each variable looks, and weigh the costs, two people with the exact same options can rationally make differnet choices.
For shorter flights, at the outer limit of what most people feel like driving in one day, it’s certainly much more of a major hassle than it used to be. Time was when you could fly from L.A. to S.F. on the drop of a hat and it was hardly more complicated than stepping aboard a city bus. Now we have to go through an extra hour or two of waiting for the security check, and the bitch of it is, for this particular route our only choices are the airway or the highway. Good rail service doesn’t exist between L.A. and S.F., which is amazing for two of the three major coastal cities of California. Perversely, there is reasonably good and very frequent rail service between L.A. and San Diego, but given the short distance many find it more convienient to drive.
Maybe someday the BART will reach us?? 
I’ve greatly curtailed my air travel because of the “security theatre” we have somehow decided is now necessary.
It’s partially the hassle, but for me it’s more philosophical. It really makes me sad to see what we have done to ourselves in pursuit of a level of safety that cannot be achieved.
I used to love traveling by air. But it just isn’t fun anymore.
In the last 2 months or so, I’ve flown to Australia and back, to Seattle and back, and to Washington DC and back. Of those, the trip to Washington DC is the only one that I would drive (and I have driven there and back a couple of times). And there’s no alternative way to get between the US and Australia. Yes, it’s more of a hassle, and the security measures sometimes seem like overkill, but it’s not really that unpleasant.
I really don’t see how airport security is any more annoying and stupid than interstate driving is, generally.
I don’t mind Amtrak. I have not yet gone on an overnighter/sleeper train, but at least when the train is stuck, you can get up, stretch, walk, snack, drink, commiserate with others, and even go outside if the option is available.
The problem is that Amtrak does not own the tracks; it leases them from Union Pacific. So when the latter has trains going or work to do on the tracks, Amtrakkers have to wait. It’s still better than being stuck in a plane on a tarmac for hours on end and being told you’ll be arrested if you don’t sit still.
Interesting. I fly all over the United States, using huge majors and tiny regionals. Not once before or after 9/11 have I had to leave a secure area in order to make a connecting flight. Not only that, but one time I have had to do so is when I have been connecting from an internatonal flight to a domestic flight in France. The other time was flying into Narita in Tokyo from Seoul and having to exit and re-enter security in order to fly another plane to connect from Tokyo to Minneapolis. ( I had two infants in my arms. Flew Seoul-Tokyo-Minneapolis-JFK in 21 hours. :eek: )
But in the U.S.A. ? Never. Let’s see. Airports I’ve passed through in the last few years that come to mind:
Miami
Orlando
Atlanta
Charlotte
Memphis
LaGuardia
JFK/New York
Newark
Stewart/Newburgh
Logan
White Plains
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Detroit/Metro
O’Hare
Midway (Chicago)
Denver
LAX
Eugene, OR.
Cincinnatti
Never. Not once has this happened to me. I don’t doubt that you have encountered this but that is a very fair representation of a lot of medium sized and larger hub airports in the country. “far too many” ? Which ones are these, please?
Cartooniverse
As an aside, I have not checked my clothing in several years on the way TO a job. I send it FedEx Ground, or FedEx 3-Day. That may seem extravagant but that’s nothing compared to the cost of having to purchase quite a few days’ worth of business attire and personal effects with zero time in which to do so. Add to that the fact that when travelling for business, I am required to wear a company logo-embroidered golf shirt each and every day. Where exactly would I purchase them when mine are lost for days, or forever? :dubious:
It typically costs me about $ 35.00 to ship my suitcase by FedEx 3 day for a trip where the bag is packed to last me a full week. Money well spent, I say. And yes, I pay on my personal FedEx account, not the company one.
-shrug- What’s your peace of mind worth?
Well, not that many choices for me, are there?
OTOH I know quite a few people who, stateside, have decided that as mentioned before if (flight time + 4 hours) > (drive time door-to-door), then driving has the utility advantage.