Why I Gave Myself a Personal Flying Limit And Why I’ll Keep It Forever
As I have learned more about climate change, something has become clear: it’s a bit hypocritical of me to fly all the time everywhere.
Flying is by far my biggest personal contribution to emissions. Although aviation is in the single digits in its contributions to climate change, as I learned in Flying Green: On the Frontiers of New Aviation, “aviation’s contribution to climate change is grossly disproportionate to the number of people who use it.” That means me.
According to this stat from the European Union: “Someone flying from Lisbon to New York and back generates roughly the same level of emissions as the average person in the EU does by heating their home for a whole year.”
(And yes, I understand all the arguments about personal vs systemic responsibility, and I give more of my thoughts in this article on the 80/20 of personal action for climate change.)
I’ve decided that to be a leader in fighting climate change, that means moving towards living in my values. This means flying less.
Yet, at the same time, I didn’t want to martyr my travel-heavy lifestyle, which has played huge role in inspiring me to help save the planet in the first place.
I Decided to Limit Myself to 6 Flights Per Year
And yes, this includes connections. Takeoff and landing are the most fuel-intensive part of flying.
Why six? I looked back at the last two calendar years and realized I went on over 40 flights. At first I thought, “well it’s okay to live a hedonistic life sometimes.” But when I audited my flights, I realized that wasn’t the case. Many of them only brought up hazy memories of exhaustion, obligation. All of them except for… about six.
In fact, I realized so much of my flying I hardly even wanted to do, and other times I could’ve taken a train or bus instead.
I also looked ahead. I thought about my future plans too and realized that all of my 2024 fantasies would also be met with six flights. So that’s what I landed on.
This is still a lot for the average person who flies.
For context, according to Gallup polls in 2015 (pre-COVID numbers), the average U.S. adult took 2.1 flights per year, and among air travelers that number was 4.6. So I’m still well above average. But considering I live without a lease and travel constantly, it has provided the right amount of restriction.
Keep The Flights I love, Cut The Ones I Don’t
My six-flight quota made me think about which trips matter most to me. Which trips lead to a disproportionate amount of happiness? I took the 80/20 principle to my flying habits.
For example, going on my yearly flight to and from Barcelona? Hell yeah. I have friends, family, and a whole other life there that I love.
This arbitrary guideline had a powerful psychological effect. It means if I really want to do something, and it’s hard to get to without flying, then I have to look inward and decide if I really did want to do it or if I just said I did.
Under this guideline, anything that isn’t hell yes is a no. A trip that sounds cool sounds a lot less cool when I look at the Greyhound bus schedule.
If I’m Not Excited to Go To The Airport, I Shouldn’t Go
For another way of looking at this, I thought about my past flights and whether I was excited to go to the airport. Again, the majority of the time, I was not. When making plans for the rest of the year, I put myself in future me’s shoes and asked myself, “Will I be excited to go to the airport?”
All Short Flights Are Easy to Cut
Many of those 40 flights I realized were short ones that could have been easily cut. Now that I’m very travel-savvy I know the other options and have already begun to take advantage of them.
For example, in 2022, I flew from Barcelona to London. I won’t ever do that again because I can get there in two high-speed train rides by going from Barcelona to Paris and then Paris to London. Sure, it’ll cost a few extra dollars, and I might wind up spending a layover day in Paris (woe is me), but I avoid the short flights.
In the U.S., it has proven to take more creativity. This year, I chose to take an overnight Amtrak train and book a private roomette from Pittsburgh to Chicago. Then, on my next stop to Louisville, I took the Greyhound bus. I’d made it all the way from the east coast to Louisville without ever taking a flight!
If you live in the U.S. and you think you don’t have any options, first I’d check a bus/train aggregator website like Busbud.
I’ve Built Deeper Connections With Fewer Places
This rule has made me shift my plans to spend more time in fewer places. Instead of hitting three cities in three weeks, I pick one. This has made it easier to meet people, settle into a routine, get some sleep, eat well, and build a deeper understanding and appreciation for a place.
This Has Made Me Question What All This Travel Is Doing For Me
This has also made me think how, with the ease with which we take airplanes, has led me to move around more, emit more, and spend more. It is along the lines of Parkinson’s law. When easy travel is an option, we’ll do it more. When it’s not an option, we’ll do it less.
Even as someone who loves traveling and loves that I can get nearly anywhere within a day on a plan, this has made me reflect on how much of my flying has been unnecessary and unfulfilling. I can’t help but broaden that out to a societal lens. What are we accomplishing with all this travel?
For me, a small amount of my flying has provided nearly all of the fulfillment.
Learning to Love The Slower Option
On my way to Chicago in a private room on the Amtrak, I woke up to a snowy view of Indiana with the sunrise pouring in the window
I was brought into the present. The moment froze in time. As I ate breakfast in the cafe car, all I could do was stare in awe. I didn’t want the train ride to end.
I said to my girlfriend Shylin, “Why are we rushing everywhere from place to place?”
This doesn’t just apply to the nice views either. I think about the eccentric bus driver on the Greyhound in Philadelphia who let me slip on the earlier bus, or when I helped a woman figure out her stop on the Fort Lauderdale bus and she showed me pictures of her kids, or on a bus in Texas when the bus turned into a salsa party that all five of us were ready to embrace.
The travel itself, however long, slow, or even delayed is part of why I love traveling. Yet, I can’t say the same about most air travel, with its cramped seats and groping TSA security.
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