Northwest Arkansas travelers used to save big bucks by driving to Tulsa to fly, but making the trip isn’t so lucrative these days.

Would you drive two hours, pay for gas and risk car trouble on the way to Tulsa to save $32 on a flight? On average, that’s the savings.

Data kept by the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows a $32 difference between the average cost of flying from Northwest Arkansas National Airport and Tulsa International Airport. FareFlightNWA compared the average in the first three quarters of 2024 from Tulsa ($433) vs. XNA ($465).

Of course, there are exceptions. Flights from Tulsa to specific destinations might result in a more substantial savings than $32. However, the average fare from XNA being less costly coupled with higher fares on most flights from Tulsa cuts into what used to be Tulsa’s significant airfare advantage.

It wasn’t so long ago that driving to Tulsa resulted in financial win. In 2018, for instance, Tulsa’s average fare was $142 less than XNA. For a family of four on a summer trip, that’s a huge savings.

But the gap between XNA and its neighboring airports is closing. In 2022, Tulsa was $74 cheaper, and Tulsa’s advantage dipped to $60 in 2023. None of those figures account for the value of time or the cost of driving to Tulsa.

Driving to Little Rock and Springfield

For those who are driving to fly from airports in Little Rock and Springfield, Mo., there’s even less to be saved.

Flights from Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in Little Rock were, on average, $12 cheaper than XNA in the first three quarters of 2024. It’s a far cry from the $111 difference between the Little Rock and XNA average  in 2018.

In Springfield, a person willing to drive before flying used to save real money, but it’s been years since that’s been true. Springfield-Branson National Airport fares were more than $100 less expensive than XNA in 2015 and 2016. In 2022, the savings was less than $3. It was near $16 in 2023 and $11 in the first three quarters of 2024.

Job Creation — in Northwest Arkansas

There are at least two other factors to consider for those who are interested in saving $32 by driving to Tulsa, $12 by going to Little Rock or $11 in Springfield.

One is job creation in Northwest Arkansas. A person who flies from XNA contributes to the local economy, and the businesses that benefit from a busier XNA hire more people to serve customers.

Those businesses might sell more gas to people driving to XNA or provide lunch to those who stop on the way to the airport. They make any number of other financial transactions on the way to the airport and in the airport. The person who goes to Tulsa, Little Rock or Springfield to fly, meanwhile, provides that job-creation benefit to those communities.

Moreover, airlines pay close attention to where they’re making money, and every passenger using XNA boosts the economic performance of an airline serving XNA. If the airlines notice that more people are using XNA that increases the likelihood that they’ll add more air service, and more air service is good for everyone in Northwest Arkansas.