drive to an airport with a decently priced flight? I realize that the price has to be good enough to possibly spend the night before the flight out or after the return, but I'm just wondering how far do other people have to go?

We live in the Milwaukee area, and the airport is about 25 minutes away. We often drive to O'Hare, which is 90 minutes away, not for a lower price, but if it means we can get a non-stop flight.

The closest airport to me is about a 40 minute drive. The next closest airport is about 2 hours plus a good 30 minutes once you get there to park and into the airport. That airport is used by my family and I for flights to Europe because the flights are more convienent, but not often less expensive. Actually the other day I was thinking that staying overnight at one of the hotels near the airport would be a good choice (use to do that) as less stress the day of the flight. Especially with the traffic we have getting to the furtherest airport. Once I return home I want to get home no matter how long the drive is..do not want an overnighter near the airport.

If I'm going to be away for more than two weeks, parking a car at an airport is too expensive. I often get a rental car and drive to Miami International Airport, which is about 130 miles away. I can get a rental car for about $35 to $40 and drop it off at the airport.

Not that we like it, but several times we have driven to JFK, 2 1/4 hr from Philly, when it is best flight and moneywise.

In San Francisco I don't drive. If there is a BART and shuttle connection, I will fly out of that airport. It makes 2: SFO and OAK. There are more, but why create additional difficulties for myself?

For me CLE and PIT are both just over an hour away from home. CAK is less than an hour but with limited flight possibilities.

CLE is a Continental hub, PIT has USAirways and AirTran flies out of CAK so I have pretty good options.

I'll often travel 100 miles or so, but I factor in MY time too, to decide whether the "deal" is really as good as it looks; after all, MY time has value too, as well as wear & tear on the car.

But what do <b>you</b> really care what <b>I would do?</b> Do what pleases you and don't worry about others.

&gt;<i>&quot;I'm just wondering how far do other people .... &quot;</i>

When I lived in RI, I've used BOS for non-stop flight to London.

When I was a kid in Hong Kong, our family had joined tours that used domestic intra-China flights from the old CAN instead of the old HKG. It added a lot of time - 2+ hour trains, or even overnight ferry from Hong Kong to Guangzhou; plus transfer. But at that time there was no SZX (Shenzhen airport), and non-stop flights from HKG are fewer, and much more expensive.

No more than 40 miles. And within that radius I have five airports to choose from, so I'm sure to get a deal somewhere.

If I lived in an area less saturated by airports, I'd probably give myself a 60-miles radius to work with.

I would only travel 18 miles. That is how far it is from my home to PHX. That is all I need. It will get me to any where in the world. If I need to bargain shop for different airports then I can't afford to travel anyway.
8-)

We are trapped.So few flight go out of the nearby airports - BUR or ONT to any place distant that we wind up having to go out of LAX. We usually stay the night before in an hotel which offers shuttle service to the airport. :-B

Between 120 to 150 miles. Not necessarily for a better price. Sometimes we have to drive to the larger airports in order to avoid 3 connections.

About every 2-3 weeks I have to do 60 miles. I'm AA guy and they did not fly out of Sarasota. They do now, but it's the weirdest comeback to an airport that they use to serve very nicely. 1 flight a day to St.Louis with no international connections possible. Anyway, it's Tampa for me. About 1 hour 15 minutes, door to door. I treat it as another connection.

Few years back I had a friend drive me to Miami because of a super duper fare on British Airways, but I would never do that again. 4 hours each way.

I know an AA pilot who lives in Vero Beach and flies out of Miami--135 miles away.

I live in the Lexington area but usually fly out of Cincinnati and Louisville. If I'm going to be gone very long, I book one of the park-n-fly hotels near the airport. It's cheaper than paying long term parking rates.

Okay, I realize I'm the exception here, but if I want to go anywhere (for any price) I have to travel by bus for 2-1/2 hours on a poorly maintained rather scary logging road; then be taken by private car another 45 minutes to the airport. All this for the pleasure of a 37 minute flight to Singapore on Garuda!

Such are the trials and tribulations of living in a remote area of Indonesia.

Does it discourage me from traveling?

Heck no!

We have two smaller regional airports that are each about 45 minutes away, BUT, we usually opt to drive three hours to fly out of ORD instead. We prefer the non-stops. There have been too many times when the regional flights were delayed our cancelled, leaving us stranded, and the flights from ORD would take off without us!!! We learned the hard way over the years, but that's life.

Now, we will often opt to do a park sleep and fly hotel stay near ORD. It is usually cheaper to leave the car at the hotel and pay for a night's stay than it is to park at O'Hare outer parking for two weeks. We usually stay the night we return, thus allowing us to get &quot;the last flight home&quot; and have more time in our vacation destination on the last day.

Our most convenient airport is Frankfurt, which about a 1.5 hour drive. But this past Christmas we drove nearly 5 hours to fly out of Amsterdam. We were flying from Europe to Orlando FL, then on to Raleigh Durham, and then back to Europe. By flying out of AMS, we got a fare of $490, saving over $200/person. Even with the gas and the hotel costs, our family of 5 saved over a thousand dollars. We thought it was worth it.

My wife and I live in NW Montana. We were going to DC last year. to fly out of our local airport, it was $460 pp. We drove to Spokane, WA ( 3.5 hour drive) and we were both able to on the same airline for $438 for both of us