convenience

Flying out earlier this fall. Our house is down there somewhere.

We’ve always been frugal travelers. Airfare for a family of four can be really expensive, so when our adult children were younger, we looked for good deals. Since we don’t live in a large city or metropolitan area, this usually meant that we would drive to, say, Dulles Airport, which is two hours away, or maybe Baltimore (3 hours on a good day, which is rare) or Philadelphia (4.25 hours without traffic — HA!).

Now that we’re traveling mostly as a pair, plus we’re older and don’t want to suffer too much when we fly, we don’t always go for the cheapest deal. This does not mean that we’re flying first class, business class, or even premium economy, because we are most definitely not. We will spend a little more to book our preferred seats if we can.¹ Will will fly direct if we can, we will, even if a layover might save us a couple hundred dollars. And we’ve recently started flying in and out of our local airport on occasion.

When we drive to Dulles, we leave 5-6 hours before our flight’s departure so that we have time to deal with the 2+ hour drive, park the car, take the shuttle to the main terminal, go through security, and then go to the correct smaller terminal and gate. And on the return trip, we have to decide if we want to drive the 2+ hours back home or if we should stay in a hotel overnight and get some sleep first.

When we fly out of our home airport, it’s a 20-minute drive. One of our adult children usually drops us off and picks us up, so we don’t even have to deal with parking. Once inside, the security checkpoint is right there and we rarely encounter lines, so we get through quickly. After that, it’s a very short walk to one of the five (yes 1-2-3-4-5) gates to wait to board. Easy peasy.

Yes, we’ll have to make a connecting flight at Dulles or maybe Charlotte or Atlanta, but somehow it’s just not that bad.² It’s either less time or the same amount of time but with less hassle.

And yes, we’re spending more on our flights but when you factor in the time we’ve saved, not having to pay for parking³, and not having to either drive two hours home or stay in a hotel when we return, we’re not spending that much more, if anything.

How do you fly? Do you go to the nearest airport or drive farther for a better deal?

1. I truly dislike how much airlines gouge passengers for every little thing.

2. I know some people hate flying through Atlanta but I don’t have a problem with it.

3. Long-term parking has gotten so expensive y’all.