Honestly this decision hinges on how much your time is worth--to you, not to your employer (assuming this is a business trip). Even though I'm retired, I value my time pretty highly, and a 3-hour drive home from the second ticket's destination airport seems bonkers. That said, I would never sit in a coach seat for nine hours, either. I'd rather take a connecting flight in coach to wind up at the closer airport than be stuck in a coach seat for that long. I need to walk around and be free.