| There's generally disheartening news for | | | | calculator also computed the round-trip cost |
| business people and vacationers intending to | | | | of the drive, in this case, 66.46. |
| fly on business or on vacation this summer, | | | | |
| according to a recent article published in | | | | To compare this to the cost of flying, I next |
| U.S. News & World Report. Not only have | | | | visited |
| flight delays increased, but so, too, have | | | | |
| the number of passengers impacted per plane. | | | | Sidestep appeals to me because it scours |
| For some, the news was worse than for others. | | | | hundreds of airline and discounted fare |
| Ranking major airports based on a combination | | | | websites for the best fare and then lets me |
| of the percentage of flights delayed and the | | | | book my flight directly with the airline in |
| average load of departing planes, the U.S. | | | | question instead of using an intermediary |
| News article branded Detroit's Wayne County | | | | like Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia. Dealing |
| Airport as the nations "most miserable | | | | with the airline directly and not through a |
| airport". | | | | third-party ticket broker, makes it easier |
| | | | and possibly less costly if fees are involved |
| Official Department of Transportation numbers | | | | to rebook if necessary. |
| paint a frustrating picture for Motown's | | | | |
| frequent fliers. Thirty-nine percent of | | | | At sidestep.com, I located an American |
| flights at Detroit leave the tarmac late. | | | | Airlines non-stop flight that would whisk me |
| Combined with an average load factor of just | | | | from Detroit to Chicago on a Tuesday and |
| under seventy-seven percent - meaning that | | | | return me the following Thursday at a total |
| passenger flights leaving the Motor City are | | | | round-trip cost of 119.00 dollars. Not at all |
| nearly 77 percent full - Detroit's airport | | | | a bad price, but still roughly twice as |
| offers the most misery to the largest number | | | | expensive as the cost of traveling by car. |
| of passengers when flights are delayed. | | | | And the price did not factor in the cost of |
| | | | airport parking or any added airport fees or |
| Because I live near Detroit and occasionally | | | | taxes. |
| travel to nearby Chicago or Cleveland on | | | | |
| business, these statistics got me wondering | | | | Because I enjoy driving, the decision to |
| about the advantages - if any - of traveling | | | | drive to Chicago on my next business trip was |
| by car to these destinations. Thanks to some | | | | an obvious one. My route takes me right by |
| other advice in the article, it was quite | | | | the Detroit airport anyway and I'd rather |
| simple for me to price and then compare the | | | | spend my time driving through the scenic |
| cost of driving and flying to each of these | | | | countryside of Western Michigan than battling |
| cities. | | | | long lines and possible delays at the |
| | | | airport. As an added bonus, it's nice to have |
| The first step in the process was to check | | | | my own car in Chicago and also nice to save |
| out | | | | on the cost of a rental. |
| | | | |
| Maintained by the American Automobile | | | | Whether a decision like mine adds up in your |
| Association (AAA), this website makes it easy | | | | case depends to a large extent on your |
| to input your starting point and destination | | | | starting point and final destination. Even |
| along with the make, model and year of | | | | though it's still marginally less expensive |
| manufacture of your vehicle. Using MPG | | | | for me to drive from Detroit to Los Angeles |
| estimates for your particular vehicle and the | | | | than it is to fly, for example, I'd never |
| average gas price for your neck of the woods, | | | | dream of making this long drive part of a |
| AAA's fuel cost calculator rapidly computes | | | | business trip. |
| the distance, the quantity of fuel required | | | | |
| and total price of the gas for a typical | | | | As a rule it's the shorter trips, on the |
| drive from in my case - Detroit to Chicago. | | | | order of 250 to 450 miles, where driving |
| In my case, I learned that I could expect to | | | | makes sense. Decide for yourself by comparing |
| consume 10.58 gallons of gas for the 275-mile | | | | the cost of flying and the cost of driving |
| drive to the Windy City at at a ballpark fuel | | | | from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, Washington, |
| cost at just over 33 dollars (33.23). The | | | | D.C. |