Beyond Rivalry

Philip Greenspun says that the double-decker Airbus A380, which started flying to the U.S. yesterday, is more fuel-efficient than a Toyota Prius. If you have to travel 8,000 nautical miles and if only one person occupies the Prius.

"The plane can carry 81,890 gallons of fuel and flies 8000 nautical miles, i.e., it burns approximately 10 gallons of fuel per nautical mile or 9 gallons per statute mile. The plane can seat 850 people if configured as an all-economy ship, so the mpg per person is approximately 95 (assuming the plane is fully loaded, which most planes seem to be these days).  The Prius gets around 45 mpg in real-world driving and, though it can seat 5, is typically occupied by one person."

He also notes that based on "an analysis of overall per-passenger-mile transportation cost, including capital investment and labor costs," the Boeing 747 was "the cheapest form of transportation period."  Cheaper than walking? Bicycling? 

Of course, no one is going to take an Airbus for a 20 mile commute to work, and no one is going to drive a Prius from the U.S. to France, so it's a bit of an apples and oranges comparison; but there are times when I am choosing a mode of transportation for a 1,500 mile trip. I have assumed -- or perhaps been told -- that airplanes are the least fuel-efficient way to go. Now I wonder what the mpg for a smaller plane (holding only 150 or 300 passengers, say), going a shorter distance (spending more time as a percentage of the whole trip taxiing, taking off, and landing), might be.