Is it worth it?

[Dakota731]

To drive two hours to save $200 on airfare versus our local airport 30 minutes away? What is your personal cutoff to drive to a different airport?

 

[sam_gordon]

To drive two hours to save $200 on airfare versus our local airport 30 minutes away? What is your personal cutoff to drive to a different airport?

I would need more information before deciding...

$200 total or per person?
How many people?
Does the (presumably) larger airport have a direct flight?
What are the times of the flight? If the local airport is 6am in the morning and the further airport is at noon, that's a "point" in favor of the further airport.

For me to drive to a further airport (and there's two within 90 minutes, while the closer one is only 30), price, time of the flight (leaving as well as returning), and direct/connecting all factor in.

 

[kanerf]

The worst part about driving two hours to a different airport is that you have to drive back again. Is there a difference in parking costs at the far vs the local airport? At the local airport, perhaps someone can drop you off and save on parking costs there.

 

[PalmettoPath]

Not worth it for. I value convenience. But everyone is different.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

I always try to consider all the factors in cases like this. Is the savings $200 total or $200 pp? What departure times are you looking at? Who all is in your party, and can all of those people tolerate an extra two hours tacked onto your transportation time (ie, are there little humans involved?). What are the parking costs at each airport, and what is going to be the cost of gas for the 4 hours you're driving to/from the further airport? Is the savings from the further airport enough that booking hotel the night before departure would work in your favor? Or even if it's a wash, would there be entertainment value in staying a night in your departure city while also breaking up the travel time?

 

[_19disnA]

Agree need more info. Can you fly non-stop and what time of day are the flights? Is the savings per person vs total? Is the airport easy to get to via freeway or do you have to travel thru any cities with lots of traffic? If your trip is across country also matters since you will have to fly then add an extra 2 hrs onto your trip as well.

 

[loves to dive]

We have a tiny local airport that goes back and forth as to whether its just for personal planes or for smaller commercial commuter planes which normally only go to Charlotte, so I have no choice. Atlanta is the nearest major airport to us and depending time of day, traffic, weather, the mood of the Gods, it can be anywhere from 1 1/2 hours to 2 to get there. We sometimes drive and park in long term parking, we sometimes take a town car service and let them drive and sometimes we find some poor sucker family member to take us.

 

[jimmymc]

Would you have to park at either airport, or can you get a ride to the closer one?

 

[EACarlson]

I probably would, and have. Most of my trips to MCO are for business, $200 is the difference between me making a profit that weekend or breaking even. I've got a small airport 20 minutes from me that I have to connect in one of five cities to get to MCO, or I can drive 90 miles the other direction and get a nonstop flight on SW. During the pandemic when all of the airlines had cut their schedules drastically I drove 3.5 hours to get a flight for $100 rather than $300 90 miles away and $500 20 miles away.

 

[leebee]

We usually drive to the airport in Portland, ME, which is just about a 2 hour trip. It's usually worth it, as we have a bunch of SW points so usually fly for free. However, we are looking into either American or Delta branded credit cards with good sign-on bonuses, as our winter weather is never predictable and a couple of times that 2 hour trip to PWM has been more like 4 or 5 hours, OR we've driven down the night before, depending on the weather/road conditions. SO YES, I'd drive 2 hours to save $200 on airfare, if it was truly a $200 savings AFTER considering the cost of gas, tolls, and parking.

 

[aokeefe]

We opted to drive 2 hours to an airport to save money once. It was fine going down but going home our flight was delayed 6 hours and we landed at 3 am- no fun driving home 2 hours at that time of day.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Remember, you also have to take into consideration the cost of travelling those two hours (I'm assuming about 100 miles each way). Let's assume seven gallons of gas at $3 a gallon. That's already $21 right there. And I cannot estimate the cost of wear and tear on your car.

Also look at the times of the flight. I may do it if your flights take off and arrive between noon and 6 PM. But a 7 AM flight means you have to leave home at 2 AM. And a flight arriving at 9:30 PM means you won't get home until after midnight.

I did it about a year ago. Plane arrived at 8:30 and we didn't get home until after 11. Never again. And the savings were over $200.

 

[sam_gordon]

But a 7 AM flight means you have to leave home at 2 AM.

Do you get to the airport 3 hours before the flight?

I agree, times matter. If I'm taking a 7am flight from the "distant" airport, I'm probably getting a room the night before.

 

[R&RsMom]

I live in West Michigan, our home airport is very expensive, and flights always involves a stop. if it’s just me flying and I can get the cheapest flight out, I sometimes do that. However, I will have a choice of nonstop flights out of Detroit often for $200-300 a person cheaper (on Delta, not a low-cost carrier). If there’s more than me travelling, we often do this. Especially if travelling with daughter’s family. The savings is $800-1200 for them. It’s a straight 2-hour drive on interstate, so figure $120 in mileage Costs. Parking at an off-site lot is $70-80. with more than one person, we do better than break even, fly nonstop with better flight times.

 

[AnnaS]

For us no - we would have to consider bridge, gas, tolls, time and I would not get r/t car service for an airport two hours away - parking fee & time of flights to consider too.

 

[Jimsig]

To me it would also depend on if that 2 hour drive includes driving through a city where you could very well hit traffic depending on when you are traveling.

 

[dez1978]

Our closest airport is 90 min and the other is closer to 2.5 hrs. We have occasionally gone to MCI instead of STL if times were acceptable and it was signifigantly cheaper. there have been a couple of times where MCI has been 100/pp each way cheaper than STL which is weird bc STL is closer to MCO. Later this month we are flying out of MCI bc we'll already be in KC that weekend for wrestling. Of course, that was the one time STL was cheaper lol

 

[sam_gordon]

Our closest airport is 90 min and the other is closer to 2.5 hrs. We have occasionally gone to MCI instead of STL if times were acceptable and it was signifigantly cheaper. there have been a couple of times where MCI has been 100/pp each way cheaper than STL which is weird bc STL is closer to MCO. Later this month we are flying out of MCI bc we'll already be in KC that weekend for wrestling. Of course, that was the one time STL was cheaper lol

Back when CVG (Cincinnati) used to be a big Delta hub, it used to be the "connection" point between our home airport (LEX) and MCO. CVG is 90 minutes up the road. This is probably a decade ago, but I remember pricing flights and it was actually CHEAPER to fly LEX>CVG>MCO than to drive 90 minutes and fly CVG>MCO on the same flight.

 

[Dakota731]

We bit the bullet today and bought the tickets from the airport two hours away. Since my daughter and her family would have four tickets to buy, they’re saving $800 so it’s worth the drive. The flight is nonstop, and the times are good so no early mornings for us.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Do you get to the airport 3 hours before the flight?

Usually not. But if I’m driving two hours to catch a plane, I want at least an hour buffer for traffic.