# Fly or Drive Calculator



## tombo (Jul 4, 2011)

Can't decide whether to drive or fly. Plug in the data and see which is best.

http://www.befrugal.com/tools/fly-or-drive-calculator/


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## jhac007 (Jul 4, 2011)

That's cool man!  Thanks so much for the link.:whoopie:


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## Sandi Bo (Jul 4, 2011)

Yes, very helpful.  Thanks.   

P.S.  Where do we factor in spouse who does not like to drive?


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## Rent_Share (Jul 4, 2011)

Sandi Bo said:


> Yes, very helpful. Thanks.
> 
> P.S. Where do we factor in spouse who does not like to drive?


 

www.*nebraskadivorce*.org


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## mtwingcpa (Jul 4, 2011)

That's pretty cool!

On the transportation-to-airport section, it would be nice if it took the lessor of taxi cost or daily parking based on length of trip. That's the usual dilemma for me. Trips of less than about 10 days are usually cheaper to park at the airport. Longer than that and it's cheaper to take a towncar (no D2D shuttle service available from my area).


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## tombo (Jul 4, 2011)

mtwingcpa said:


> That's pretty cool!
> 
> On the transportation-to-airport section, it would be nice if it took the lessor of taxi cost or daily parking based on length of trip. That's the usual dilemma for me. Trips of less than about 10 days are usually cheaper to park at the airport. Longer than that and it's cheaper to take a towncar (no D2D shuttle service available from my area).



This is not on the trip calculator either, but for long trips we often stay at a motel near the airport with a free shuttle. Parking runs about $10 a day at the airport.  I can go to an airport area motel the night before my flight, get a room for about $60 to $80, and break even or even save money over paying $70 to $100 in parking fees for a 7 to 10 day trip. 

Doing this not only saves money, it also makes the travel day so much better. Rather than leaving the house at 4 am to make an 8 am flight (hour drive from my house) I can wake up at the hotel at  5:30 in the morning, shower, hop on the shuttle and they drop me right at my gate. When I return the shuttle drops me and my luggage at my car in the motel parking lot rather than lugging baggage to the parking garage or having one of us stay with the bags by the curb while the other gets the car. 

I am sure everyone knows this, posting just in case someone hasn't thought about it.


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## Talent312 (Jul 4, 2011)

For our last short-hop trip, it shows the time to be equal, but the cost of driving significantly less.

I knew this intuitively, and yet we chose to fly becuz of three factors that the calculator does not include:
-- wear+tear on the vehicle's condition;
-- wear+tear on the driver's condition; and
-- the sheer boredom of sitting in vehicle for 6+ hours.


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## mtwingcpa (Jul 4, 2011)

tombo said:


> This is not on the trip calculator either, but for long trips we often stay at a motel near the airport with a free shuttle. Parking runs about $10 a day at the airport.  I can go to an airport area motel the night before my flight, get a room for about $60 to $80, and break even or even save money over paying $70 to $100 in parking fees for a 7 to 10 day trip.



Agreed, I often do likewise, and that option isn't directly supported by the calculator. Also, the possible cost of a rental car at the destination isn't provided for.

So, anyway, this calculator is a nice "start," but perhaps it doesn't quite tackle the full complexity of the problem.


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## tombo (Jul 4, 2011)

Talent312 said:


> For our last short-hop trip, it shows the drive-time to be equal, but the cost of driving is significantly less.
> 
> I knew this intuitively, and yet we chose to fly becuz of three factors that this calculator does not include:
> -- wear+tear on the vehicle's condition;
> ...



For me if the drive time and flight time are even close to equal I will drive every time. I save $$'s because gas is much cheaper than air fare even factoring in wear and tear.  I also save on renting a car or using cabs at my destination, and I can head towards my vacation destination or home whenever I want, not when my flight leaves. If my plans change I can come home early driving. Flying I might have to pay $150 a ticket or more to change flights. Plus when I drive I never have to worry about changed/cancelled fights or lost luggage. JMHO.


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## tiel (Jul 4, 2011)

This is a great little calculator.   While it doesn't _directly_ address a few factors in its computations, you can use it to include a few of those factors indirectly.  For example, if you select "other" in the to and from airport costs, you can put in your park/fly hotel rate (plus the est. cost to driving to the hotel, if you want) and your rental car cost at your destination.  While this is still not perfect, it can get a you a little closer to your true cost of flying. All in all, I like it!


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## tombo (Jul 4, 2011)

tiel said:


> This is a great little calculator.   While it doesn't _directly_ address a few factors in its computations, you can use it to include a few of those factors indirectly.  For example, if you select "other" in the to and from airport costs, you can put in your park/fly hotel rate (plus the est. cost to driving to the hotel, if you want) and your rental car cost at your destination.  While this is still not perfect, it can get a you a little closer to your true cost of flying. All in all, I like it!



I looked at the calculator again after reading your post and there are places like "other" where you can enter rental car prices, estimated cab fares, etc. With a little tweaking you can enter almost any variable you want. Although not perfect it is still a pretty good way to rationally compare driving vs flying.


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## MommaBear (Jul 4, 2011)

:hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical: 





Rent_Share said:


> www.*nebraskadivorce*.org


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## Rent_Share (Jul 5, 2011)

MommaBear said:


> :hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical:


 
At least somebody has a sense of humor too !


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## Phill12 (Jul 5, 2011)

tombo said:


> Can't decide whether to drive or fly. Plug in the data and see which is best.
> 
> http://www.befrugal.com/tools/fly-or-drive-calculator/



 Since we just bought a new car I thought our trip to Dallas to visit our daughter would be good time to drive. Could stop over in Vegas and visit my money I left there last time sounded like good idea. 

 My wife told me where I could plug that drive calculator after I drop her at the Sacramento airport. 

 I guess a 3 1/2 hour non-stop flight wins out over driving three days or as I explained the break in period. 

 It was explained to me that I could drive and get there in time to drop her back at the Dallas airport for return trip. Was made very clear that if she rode in the car for three days each way Hell would have new meaning. Money doesn't come into the choice. Last thing I heard was she wasn't changing planes so what do I think the chances of being in a car three days  have. 

 PHILL12


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## Rent_Share (Jul 5, 2011)

Rent_Share said:


> At least somebody has a sense of humor too !


 

My Dad would argue @ 75 + that it took less time to drive by himself from LA to Portland than to fly . . .

To each their own . . . .


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## mtwingcpa (Jul 5, 2011)

tiel said:


> While it doesn't _directly_ address a few factors in its computations, you can use it to include a few of those factors indirectly.  For example, if you select "other" in the to and from airport costs, you can put in your park/fly hotel rate (plus the est. cost to driving to the hotel, if you want) and your rental car cost at your destination.  While this is still not perfect, it can get a you a little closer to your true cost of flying.



Agreed, with a bit of experimentation you can "shoehorn" most related expenses. But, if you change the length (number of days) of the trip, then much of that information (such as a rental car) may need to be manually recalculated.

I realize that I'm asking for quite a bit. But I've spent hours and hours comparing drive-versus-fly scenarios, and have also tried to build Excel spreadsheets to analyze the situation. So I would be thrilled to find a program that could handle a slightly more complex analysis.


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## x3 skier (Jul 5, 2011)

*Odd behavior*

As I seldom consider cost when making travel plans (most paid for by the Company or other considerations determine fly vs drive), I tried to use the calculator for a trip from Dayton OH to Charleston SC.

Unfortunately, the calculator will not let me input Dayton and keeps defaulting to some place called Day South Dakota. 

Cheers


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