For Those Who Give a Flying Buck... What Routes Give the Most Value per Dollar in Comfort?

November 2021
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How to guarantee a comfortable and high-value getaway.

Let’s say you live in Los Angeles and you love the Monterey Peninsula. Sure, you’ve been to Monterey a bunch of times, but you’ve never been to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

You can go from Los Angeles to Monterey (532 flight miles round-trip) for $270 in coach – 51 cents a mile. OR you can go from Los Angeles to San Juan (6,772 miles round-trip) for $912 in First Class. That’s 13 cents per flight mile, which is 75% less than Monterey, AND you get to fly in First Class.

This kind of math can be helpful when you’re itching for a comfort-filled vacation but your spouse or travel mates are ho-hum about it. Or maybe they’re thinking of another destination that doesn’t represent good value. That’s because true value can be measured in more ways than the mere price of a ticket.

Our price-per-mile and cost-per-hour metrics offer an entirely different perspective on travel value. So your next question is undoubtedly, “okay, where might I go?”. Well, I’m glad you asked. The following charts lay out a range of interesting examples…

American Airlines Examples of How to Look at Cost By Distance

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Delta Examples of How to Look at Cost By Distance

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United Examples of How to Look at Cost By Distance

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[["American Routes","Business Class Fare","Round-trip Flight Miles","Cents Per Mile","Cost Per Flight Hour"],["Charlotte - Boston","$596","1,456","41","$149"],["Chicago - Paris","$3,918","8,304","47","$230"],["Dallas - Amsterdam","$2,430","9,840","25","$125"],["Dallas - Hong Kong","$5,881","16,246","36","$184"],["Los Angeles - Cancun","$875","4,238","21","$97"],["Los Angeles - Honolulu","$939","5,112","18","$85"],["Los Angeles - London","$2,543","10,912","23","$113"],["Los Angeles - Sydney","$8,195","14,976","55","$278"],["Los Angeles - Tokyo","$5,888","10,976","54","$268"],["Miami - Quito","$848","3,574","24","$106"],["Miami - San Juan","$719","2,090","34","$144"],["Miami - St. Kitts","$865","2,542","34","$144"],["New York - Los Angeles","$1,030","4,950","21","$94"],["New York - Rio de Janeiro","$1,821","9,572","19","$96"],["New York - San Juan","$625","3,196","20","$89"],["New York - Tel Aviv","$2,232","11,354","20","$99"]]
[["Delta Routes","Business Class Fare","Round-trip Flight Miles","Cents Per Mile","Cost Per Flight Hour"],["Atlanta - Johannesburg","$7,370","16,878","44","$223"],["Atlanta - Montego Bay","$1,003","2,234","45","$201"],["Atlanta - San Jose, Costa Rica","$1,352","3,254","42","$193"],["Atlanta - Sao Paulo","$2,292","9,306","25","$124"],["Detroit - Paris","$4,097","7,924","52","$256"],["Los Angeles - Kauai","$1,058","5,230","20","$96"],["Los Angeles - Tokyo","$6,956","10,976","63","$316"],["Minneapolis - San Juan","$857","4,808","18","$86"],["New York - London","$2,321","6,902","34","$166"],["New York - Los Angeles","$1,179","4,950","24","$107"],["New York - Milan","$2,427","7,990","30","$152"],["New York - Sint Maarten","$883","3,362","26","$118"],["Salt Lake City - Cancun","$1,058","4,010","26","$124"],["Seattle - Boston","$1,037","4,992","21","$99"],["Seattle - Puerto Vallarta","$769","4,156","19","$85"]]
[["United Routes","Business Class Fare","Round-trip Flight Miles","Cents Per Mile","Cost Per Flight Hour"],["Chicago - Miami","$588","2,394","25","$107"],["Chicago - San Francisco","$805","3,692","22","$101"],["Houston - Amsterdam","$3,359","10,024","34","$168"],["Houston - Buenos Aires","$6,857","10,124","68","$343"],["Houston - Cancun","$613","1,622","38","$153"],["Newark - Aruba","$866","3,914","22","$102"],["Newark - Honolulu","$2,235","9,924","23","$112"],["Newark - Liberia","$761","4,372","17","$85"],["Newark - Los Angeles","$1,179","4,908","24","$118"],["Newark - Sao Paulo","$2,377","9,516","25","$125"],["Newark - Tel Aviv","$2,264","11,384","20","$101"],["San Francisco - London","$3,621","10,736","34","$172"],["San Francisco - Taipei","$5,344","12,938","41","$210"],["Washington, DC - Beijing","$24,000","13,842","173","$889"],["Washington, DC - Berlin","$3,856","8,406","46","$227"]]