When shopping for airline tickets, it is easy to focus on one number: the fare. But airfare is only one part of what a trip actually costs.
For northern Maine travelers, using an alternative airport can mean driving several hours before the flight even begins and again after returning home. That additional travel has real costs, including gasoline and parking. Less obvious costs include putting additional miles on a vehicle and spending additional hours on the road.
That is why Presque Isle International Airport offers a true cost calculator at www.flypresqueisle.com. It allows travelers to look beyond airfare and make a more complete comparison between flying from PQI and driving to another airport.
When considering out-of-pocket vs. true cost, one question that naturally comes up is how to calculate the the cost of driving.
Gasoline isn’t the entire cost of operating a vehicle. Every additional mile contributes to tire wear, maintenance, repairs, depreciation and, eventually, vehicle replacement. You don’t purchase a small portion of a set of tires every time you drive to Bangor, and you don’t pay depreciation at the gas pump. Those expenses show up later.
The fact that you don’t pay those costs on the day of your trip doesn’t mean they don’t exist. The good news is that the true cost calculator is customizable.
If you want to consider only gasoline as the cost of driving, you can. If you want to consider the broader cost of operating your vehicle, you can do that, too. The calculator’s purpose isn’t to make PQI look best, but to let you make the comparison that makes sense to you.
Parking can change the comparison. Parking is more straightforward because it is a direct out-of-pocket expense. If you drive to another airport and leave your vehicle there for a week, that’s additional money you spend because of that trip.
But there is an important advantage to having an airport close to home.
Because PQI is nearby for many area residents, you may be able to have a friend or family member drop you off and pick you up. Another option is to drive yourself to PQI and have someone retrieve your vehicle after your departure and return it before you come home. Either way, your parking expenses at PQI would be zero.
Asking someone to drive you a few minutes to your hometown airport is very different from asking that person to make a several-hour round trip to another airport—twice.
The calculator allows you to account for this. If you’re being dropped off at PQI, enter zero for parking. If you’re leaving your vehicle at PQI, include the parking expense. Again, the goal is to reflect the trip you will actually take.
Driving to and from an alternative airport also adds hours to your trip. Some travelers may place significant value on several additional hours of driving. Others may prefer not to assign their time a dollar value. The calculator accommodates either approach. If you don’t want to assign a value to your time, leave it out. If you believe your time has an economic value, include it.
You choose the assumptions, and the calculator does the math.
The calculator doesn’t attempt to capture every possible expense or inconvenience. For example, it doesn’t include hotel expenses.
An early morning departure from another airport might require leaving northern Maine in the middle of the night. Some travelers may choose to drive down the evening before and stay in a hotel. A late-night return could create the same situation. Hotel expenses should be considered separately.
There are other factors. Driving hundreds of additional miles during a northern Maine winter can involve snow-covered roads, freezing rain, wildlife, fatigue and unpredictable travel times. Those considerations won’t necessarily appear in a cost calculation, but they can certainly affect the travel experience.
Will PQI have the lowest airfare to every destination on every day? Of course not. No airport does.Sometimes, even after considering the additional costs, another airport may still be the better value. The calculator isn’t designed to favor PQI, but to help you make an informed choice.
There is also a community benefit to flying locally. Every passenger who chooses PQI demonstrates demand for air service in northern Maine. Strong passenger numbers help us maintain and improve that service for the entire region.
The next time you shop for a flight, compare the fares — but don’t stop there. Visit www.flypresqueisle.com, use the true cost calculator, customize the assumptions to fit your trip, and see what the numbers show.
Because the cheapest airline ticket isn’t always the least expensive trip.
Scott Wardwell is airport director for Presque Isle International Airport. He can be reached at 764-2550 or via email at scottw@flypresqueisle.com.
