I have made many trips that could not have been accomplished, in the same time frame, by any means other than private aircraft.
Flying commercial often means having to stay overnight somewhere you don't want to be because the airlines don't fly at the time you want them to fly. I have saved many days.
However, to match commercial airline reliability, you need a very capable aircraft (Seneca, Baron or King Air perhaps) and you need to be a very competent pilot. The investment required to achieve this, if you are not flying for the love of aviation, would make me think seriously about private charter as an alternative to commercial.