Air travel has been a nightmare entering 2023.

Southwest Airlines dealt with countless delays and cancellations during the holiday season, and every other airline had to shuffle flights around on the heels of massive snowstorms across the Northeast. Couple that with incidents like the near-collision at JFK Airport, and with every passing day, traveling by plane seems less and less desirable.

If given the option, New Yorkers want nothing to do with air travel right now, but how are they willing to go to avoid it?

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New York Residents Ready to Hit the Road Instead of Flying in 2023

A study done by Family Destinations Guide surveyed travelers from every state to gauge their interest, or lack thereof, in traveling around the country via plane in the new year. The results of the study were based on a survey of 3,000 travelers done in January 2023, and yielded interesting results about the country's collective feeling about air travel.

Specific to the Empire State, the study claimed that New Yorkers would be prepared to drive a length of 5 hours, 21 minutes, if it meant they could avoid taking a one-hour flight.

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Participants in the study were also asked how frustrated, on a scale of 1-10, they are with the state of air travel in 2023. The respondents averaged an 8/10 in their level of frustration, and to some people, that number may seem like an understatement, as 74% of people said they are inclined to travel by road this summer if they go on vacation.

The situation has become so dire, in fact, that people are willing to spend significantly more money than they are right now on their plane tickets, if it could guarantee that no delays would pop-up.

How much money? Try 32% more, or roughly $127 more than the current average plane ticket price.

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Here's how far travelers from the states around New York are willing to drive in order to avoid boarding a flight:

  • Massachusetts: 4 hours, 30 minutes
  • Connecticut: 8 hours, 8 minutes
  • Vermont: 9 hours, 30 minutes
  • New Jersey: 6 hours, 38 minutes
  • Pennsylvania: 6 hours, 14 minutes
  • New Hampshire: 3 hours, 6 minutes

It's been an extremely frustrating period for those who like to, or need to, fly somewhere in the United States. As more people choose to travel via car or train, air travel will eventually return to being convenient again.

Until that time, however, get the family truckster tuned up and ready to roll, because your 2023 summer vacation may happen via road trip.

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