From a literal science perspective you'd think land travel would be quicker than airplane travel.
On land it's the circumference of the earth, by air it's the circumference of the earth plus 30000 feet so that circumference will be significantly larger and is a much longer distance to travel.
Don’t forget about the Jet stream and how it changes measured speed. Most airliners at 30,000 FT are pushing air speeds nearing supersonic speeds. But when converted to ground speed, it’s significantly slower.