Airplanes

Plane owner worked out if it's cheaper to fly or drive from Texas to Washington and the difference is big

  • An American flew her Piper from Texas to Washington
  • The whole journey took her over 20 hours in total
  • The cost difference versus driving the same journey was huge

Published on May 09, 2025 at 4:56 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall

Last updated on May 09, 2025 at 9:25 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

An American pilot and plane owner decided to work out if it was cheaper to fly her Piper from Texas to Washington than drive, and the difference was big.

YouTuber and pilot Kay Hall, whose channel is FlaywithKay, shared a YouTube short of her exploring the topic.

She took her Piper PA28 aircraft from Houston, Texas, and flew it to Washington to work out the costs involved.

Her video recounted the various legs of her journey, including how long she was in the air and her time on the ground.

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Kay revealed her trip started in Houston, Texas and finished in Seattle, Washington – her longest-ever flight.

The first leg was just over four hours.

This was from Sugarland to Carlsbad NM, and it cost her $177,84 for the fuel in her aircraft.

She then flew from Carlsbad to Gila Bend AZ, which took just under four hours and cost $271.60 in fuel.

The third leg to Hemet CA was shorter at 2.5 hours, but it cost another $134.42 for the fuel in her Piper.

After this leg, she flew to Yolo County CA in just over four hours, paying $229.40 for her fuel.

The fifth leg of her trip was 3.3 hours.

This time it took her to Corvallis OR and that added another $222.40 in fuel.

The sixth and final leg of the journey was 1.9 hours away to Port Angeles WA.

Kay didn’t need to refill the plane for the final part of the journey.

She revealed she was airborne for 20 hours in total.

Piper Plane owner worked out if it's cheaper to fly or drive her Piper from Texas to Washington and the difference is big
FlywithKay

On top of that, there was an additional 30 minutes on the ground at each stop for refueling and topping up on any supplies.

She calculated the cost for her to fly from Texas to Washington was $1,035.66, which is a significant amount of money.

Apple Maps told her it would take 35 hours to do the same drive, costing roughly $450 in gasoline.

As we can see, that is a huge difference between the two.

So if you were thinking of flying instead of driving, maybe the extra journey time is worth it for the big savings.

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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a leading heritage steam railway in England.