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Sorry for all of the posts - I'd like to move to western NC and will need to fly to Syracuse to visit family as they are leaving NJ and moving there (tried to get them down here). I checked out airfare from Asheville and OH MY - over $400. Travelocity tells me it's cheaper to fly out of Charlotte or Knoxville. Charlotte is cheapest and a hub, and I figure that is probably the way to go...but a two hour drive from Black Mountain?
I fly a lot, but the caveat is most of it is not on my dime. Still, I treat my company's money like it is my own. But, there is a time vs. money factor for me. In my case, it would cost my company more to pay me the additional 3 hours or so each way (2 hour drive, arriving earlier, factoring in traffic risks, etc) than the airfare difference.
I almost always fly out of AVL. It is a 10-minute drive for me and I don't have to get there as much ahead of time to get through security. If the price difference is great enough, I will sometimes fly to Greenville. Maybe it is just where I wind up flying, but AVL is usually cheaper than GSP.
The other piece of the puzzle is most of my travel is on Delta these days, so Charlotte would not do me any good. But even when flying USeless Airways I wind up going in and out of AVL. I've thought about renting a car and driving home from Charlotte more than once ("ladies and gentleman, our aircraft is still having a maintenance problem and the new estimated time of departure is in 90 more minutes, 3 hours later than the original scheduled departure time. Sorry for the inconvenience").
Having spent a good deal of my travel going through large airports, starting out in a small one is a breath of fresh air. But everyone's cost vs. hassle factor is different.
Many people do indeed reject flying out of the Asheville Airport for cost reasons, and they make the long drive to and from Charlotte or Greenville-Spartanburg airports to save money. For me, convenience is the number one consideration, I tire easily and do not like long drives. All things considered, it is worth the extra money to me, to have the convenience of our own airport, especially when I come back home from a long trip, to be able to walk out the front door of the airport, see my car from there and get in it, drive home within 15 minutes. Plus I don't fly very often, so cost is not as much of an issue. In addition to using our airport, I fly when costs are down and always choose flights that don't involve a lot of layovers and changing planes. There are some nonstop flights available at the Asheville airport to some areas from time to time, might help with costs. With that said, if you choose to drive to save money, the Greenville airport is closer and easier to get back to Asheville than the Charlotte one is, the area is simple to get over to I-26, and that's a straight shot into Asheville, less miles too.
you have to consider the cost of gas, 2 hours before and after your flight, its more expensive to park at charlotte and you have to take a shuttle from the lots. AVL is more expensive but you walk out the door and there is your car, super easy airport.
Knoxville is a 2 hour drive also.
Greenville may be an option.
Atlanta.... you might as well just drive to somewhere in virginia and have a much shorter flight, it will take you 4 hours to get there.
you have to consider the cost of gas, 2 hours before and after your flight, its more expensive to park at charlotte and you have to take a shuttle from the lots. AVL is more expensive but you walk out the door and there is your car, super easy airport.
To me it's worth about $100 to fly out of AVL as opposed to GSP or CLT. Flew just last week, and sure enjoyed connecting in Charlotte vs driving from Charlotte.
Black Mountain to the Charlotte Airport is an easy drive. Use US321.
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