New York to Orlando

As its the dead of winter, for my first post comparing the costs of driving vs flying I've chosen a very popular route for this time of year: NYC to Orlando. Florida seems to be the destination of choice for New Yorkers as in January many of the routes entered into the 'galculator' on Cost2Drive.com included Walt Disney World as a destination.

To run the comparison I've selected 3 styles of 2008 model vehicles; a subcompact, a midsize and a SUV. The airfare used in the comparison was the cheapest airfare found by users of Kayak.com. The carbon footprint for the flight portion was found on the TRX Travel Analytics Website. All costs represent roundtrip journeys.

Here are the results as researched on Feb 4, 2008:

Driving a Subcompact: The vehicle used for the subcompact comparison was a Toyota Corolla. The cost to drive from New York to Orlando is $108.82 compared to the airfare cost of $159. Therefore, it's cheaper to drive even if there is only one person traveling. The carbon footprint for driving is 773.8 lbs vs. 636 for flying, making flight the 'green' winner for single passengers. Driving is the greener option for 2 or more passengers.

Driving a Midsize Car: The vehicle used for the midsize comparison was a Lexus ES 350. The cost to drive from New York to Orlando is $147.40, making it cheaper to drive with one or more passengers. The carbon footprint for driving is 1005.6 lbs, making flight the green choice for a single passenger, but driving the winner for 2 or more.

Driving an SUV: The vehicle used for the SUV comparison was a Ford Explorer (4WD). The cost to drive from New York to Orlando is $200.04 making it cheaper to fly with a single passenger, but cheaper to drive with 2 or more. The carbon footprint for driving is 1,420.1 lbs making flying a greener option for less than 3 passengers.