What’s faster: hopping into a personal Cirrus Aircraft airplane or booking a seat on Delta Air Lines?
It’s a question most pilots and frequent travelers have wondered about at some point, and in my latest video, I decided to put it to the test.
This isn’t just about cruise speeds or advertised block times. It’s about the real-world experience of travel. Door-to-door timing. Preflight vs TSA. Taxi time vs ramp access. Flexibility vs fixed schedules. When you zoom out and look at the entire journey, the results may surprise you.
In this video, I walk through a true apples-to-apples comparison between flying a Cirrus and flying commercially on Delta over the same trip. From planning and departure to arrival and total elapsed time, you’ll see how general aviation stacks up against the airlines when everything is counted, not just what happens in the air.
Along the way, I also share some practical insights that only come from actually doing the trip:
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- Where personal aviation shines and where it doesn’t
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- How airline inefficiencies quietly add up
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- Why trip distance matters more than you might think
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- And what this kind of comparison really says about the value of GA flying
If you’ve ever justified owning or renting an airplane, debated the convenience factor with non-pilot friends, or simply wondered if GA really saves time, this is a must-watch.
Watch the full video below: You might never look at travel the same way again.