Are short flights even worth it?
I’m always so frustrated flying home from Kelowna on WestJet. It’s a 30 minute flight (45 minutes gate to gate) and yet it takes almost that long in Calgary to get your luggage. Seriously. One time (no, not at band camp) I actually waited longer for my luggage than the time the flight took. Seven minutes longer in fact. How can I get 400 kilometers in 30 minutes but it takes 37 minutes for my luggage to go from the belly of the aircraft a few hundred meters to the baggage carousal.
Anyway, that got me thinking. Is it really worth it to do short flights? Let’s look at Calgary to Kelowna as an example. To fly there on WJA, I go through the following: 30 minute drive to the airport, 60 minute wait to board, 30 minute flight, 15 minute wait for luggage, 30 drive to downtown Kelowna. So it’s almost 3 hours total time. Cost? Between $150 and $250 per person once you add in the taxes. Oh, and unless someone dropped you at the airport, you need to add in the cost of a taxi or the cost of parking at the airport. Add another $50. Bringing a dog in a kennel? No problem, but add a $40 surchange. Great.
The drive, on the other hand, is seven hours. Cost for fuel is about $40 and add another $60 on there for the cost of maintenance for the distance (I generally use 10 cents per kilometer). So, total cost is $100. So flying to Kelowna has saved you four hours but has cost $300 more for two people and a dog. That works out to a cost of $75 per hour saved. Not sure it’s worth it.
Tue, 01 Mar 2005 04:24 Posted in Flying
