What Makes Flying (Ir)replaceable?

Flying is deeply valuable for travelers. Yet unlike other environmentally destructive choices, there are no obvious sustainable alternatives for long distances. In this paper I ask whether, and in what sense, long-distance leisure travel (LDLT) is (ir)replaceable. I first argue that in standard accounts of well-being it is hard to show why LDLT could not be replaced by more local goods. Outside of a few exceptions, LDLT could largely be replaced. I next argue that if anything makes LDLT irreplaceably valuable it is this: it allows us to understand ourselves in our proper global context. I lastly explore the role that non-flying modes of transport can play in LDLT and show how we might evaluate slower forms of transport that can still enable LDLT.