How to Decide Between Flying and Driving for Your Next Business Trip

Many small business owners are all too familiar with the hassles (and sometimes joys) of business travel. A key decision these days, especially with both rising gas prices and rising airline ticket costs, are whether to fly or drive to out-of town business meetings.

Some decisions are easy like driving if you can get there and back in the same day or flying if you’re based in NYC and you have a meeting in San Francisco. Other decisions are more complicated and seem like a toss-up.

The new Fly or Drive Calculator from BeFrugal.com can help with the decision. First, you enter your starting city and ending location. You then enter your travel dates and number of travelers. It then asks about your vehicle (so it can calculate things like cost of gas based on average gas mileage for your car), the number of hours you’re willing to drive in a day, and any tolls you expect to pay. The next screen asks you to pick the airports you’d use if flying, and to enter the amount of time you’ll need in the airport. The last screen in the questionnaire asks about transportation on the ground, including getting to and from the airport and cost of any rental car you’ll need. (Note that this was originally designed for leisure travel, so some of the choices are not business-appropriate.). It also estimates the cost of your airline ticket—but you can change that if you have a quote for it already.

The results screen shows you time, cost, and CO2 impact for each option at the top of the screen, then breaks down the details below. You might be surprised at the results. Of course, one of the key factors the calculator does not consider is the cost of your time-- so be sure to factor that in yourself if the fly and drive options are about the same on time but the drive option is less expensive.

So, whether you’re planning your next business trip, or your summer vacation, give the Fly or Drive Calculator a try.