Originally Posted by
bill fly
Realistically a full aircraft presently uses less fuel than would be used if each passenger drove his car the same distance solo.
Sorry, catching up on an old post...
Realistically, an utterly fatuous statistic, if that's what it is. Each passenger is only travelling by air because the aircraft is available to the desired destination (possibly desired only because it's available). On long-haul there is no realistic alternative so he or she would stay at home if air transport is not possible. On short haul, he or she would probably find a better public transport alternative than the car if the journey were really necessary, or otherwise stay at home. Even if every passenger elected to use a car instead of going by air, the number of cars used is unlikely to be the same as the number of passengers, so the arithmetic is fatally flawed in any event.
I'm all for making a case for air transport vs other forms of transport, but nonsensical claims don't help.