Final answer:
The IFR minimum fuel requirements for airline operations are not discussed in the student's question, which instead focuses on comparing the fuel efficiency of an airplane versus a car on a per-passenger basis. Airplanes can reach a fuel efficiency of 90 mpg per passenger, which is difficult for cars to match. The concept also extends to space travel, where fuel requirements can't be directly compared to terrestrial vehicles.
Step-by-step explanation:
The IFR minimum fuel requirements for an airline operation are not directly addressed in the student's question. However, the context provided allows us to discuss the efficiency of airline fuel consumption on a per-passenger basis compared to car travel. When considering whether a car could use less fuel per person than a fully-occupied airplane, it's important to note that an airplane gets less than one mile per gallon in total, but this is offset by the number of passengers sharing that fuel cost. Therefore, on a per-passenger basis, the fuel efficiency can be as high as 90 miles per gallon (mpg) per passenger.
It is a challenge to find cars with performance that match or exceed that level of fuel efficiency. While it appears that most of the energy in flying is used to overcome air resistance, which is relatively constant regardless of the number of passengers, car travel efficiency can be significantly influenced by the number of occupants sharing the fuel expense. Additionally, the energy required for space travel is not proportionate to distance as it is with cars because of the significant fuel load needed just to escape Earth's gravity.
In summary, considering the fuel efficiency of an airplane on a per-passenger basis is much greater than it seems when considering the plane as a whole. Conversely, it is not easy to find cars that can compete with this level of fuel efficiency when carrying a similar number of passengers.