Originally Posted by
Russ Roth
Not really comparable, according to How Stuff Works "A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon (about 4 liters) of fuel every second. Over the course of a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36,000 gallons (150,000 liters). The 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile" Gonna guess gas costs alone on a trip really skews the trip cost on a bus vs a plane. Not to mention, buses don't have stewardesses, co-pilots, or the same pay scale for a driver vs a pilot.
Fuel economy for air travel is higher than transit bus, which are quite inefficient. Rail travel is most efficient:
Fuel is a huge cost for airlines. The global airline industry's fuel bill this year is expected to be 32% of their expenses.