Should I Drive or Fly?

We've got gasoline prices near an all time high. We also have airlines hiking their fares. I understand that airplane fuel can get more expensive, too. But, I wonder if there is a game played between those who run the oil companies and those who run the airlines.

I know that I am often of being a conspiracy theorist. And maybe this is one of those times. But, I'm thinking.... if people have to travel somewhere, they have the option of flying or driving (even if that is taking a bus or a train). So, when gas prices are low, the airlines have to keep their prices down to get people to fly rather than drive. And now that gas prices are high, the airlines only have to be low enough to make it worthwhile. It's kind of how the Cubs ownership only needs to put an average team on the field to still make money.

Remember the last time gas creeped over $4 per gallon? What happened? People stopped driving as much. And magically, gas prices SOON came down... substantially. At that time, I did not pay attention to airfare. If in fact there IS a tie-in between these two factions, could that mean that WE, the consumers, can get some control of the situation?

It's uncanny how things in this world are tied together. Right? What if we start driving less? We still make the necessary trips but cut out the unnecessary ones. That means that we do not go shopping as much, we don't go out for entertainment and so on. The loss in revenue by our retailers combined with the lack of demand vs supply can help the gas prices come down. Likewise, the cost of airfare can decrease once this happens so that people making those shorter trips will have to at least consider flying instead of driving.

Does that make sense? Or am I stretching here?