Question about flying in and out of southern MD

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perfectorec

New Member
Question, if one lived in the Patuxent River area and needed to fly out of the area on a monthly basis for a weekend trip, is BWI the closest and only option? I saw St.Mary's county has a regional airport but it doesn't look like commercial connector flights run out of there. It looks to be about 2 hour car ride to BWI but with traffic who knows. Are there any other options or is it BWI or bust? Thanks in advance ladies and gents!
 
blacklabman

blacklabman

Well-Known Member
perfectorec said:
Question, if one lived in the Patuxent River area and needed to fly out of the area on a monthly basis for a weekend trip, is BWI the closest and only option? I saw St.Mary's county has a regional airport but it doesn't look like commercial connector flights run out of there. It looks to be about 2 hour car ride to BWI but with traffic who knows. Are there any other options or is it BWI or bust? Thanks in advance ladies and gents!
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Also have Dulles and Reagan National. Depends on your airline preference and destination. Reagan has no international flights.

My preference is BWI for domestic. Parking is also better there.
 
Chasey_Lane

Chasey_Lane

Salt Life
I prefer BWI airport, but DCA is easier to get to IMO. Parking is more expensive at DCA. When I book a flight, I get quotes from BWI, DCA and Dulles and include time/distance, baggage fees, parking fees, etc. before I decide which airport to use. :yay:
 
Railroad

Railroad

Routinely Derailed
I haven't traveled in about 5 years, but when I did, I would do anything with my schedule to avoid DCA and Dulles. That worked for everything except flying to The Netherlands. That meant leaving in the wee hours before dawn and returning in the early afternoon. Not hard to do if you think it through.

I like clean places with decent rental car drop-off/pick-up arrangements and lounges/eateries close to the gates. I also avoid the Washington area like the plague - I stay as far away as possible, all the time. And BWI is well enough isolated from downtown Baltimore to be relatively safe.
 
C

creekman

New Member
I travel often and only use BWI. Its about an hour and a half from South Calvert. I usually have a very early flight so traffic is not a terrible problem. No beltway traffic and its easy to park and get in and out.

Its been years since I used National and I have only used Dulles to go overseas. There are times when I have even used BWI for internatonal flights.
 
thurley42

thurley42

HY;FR
I prefer Dulles its closest and go most places these days. Parking can sometimes suck but it's 20 minutes closer than BWI.
 
aps45819

aps45819

24/7 Single Dad
Railroad said:
Depends on where you are.
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Very true.


When my sister lived in Fairfax, I'd overnight at her place and have a 15 minute drive to Dullas.

When Dullas first opened there were only one or two flights a day in or out. That nice deserted four lane access road was the place to find the top end on your car
 
desertrat

desertrat

0_0
thurley42 said:
Man, that was a brainfart. I meant Reagan..
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From California, it takes me about 90 minutes to BWI. I know the layout so I tend to like it. I make sure to not try to make it there during a rush hour for sure. Plus, if you want an early flight, they have a lot of hotels very close where you may park your car and no charge. Shuttle service in the AM and you are good to go.
 
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daylily

no longer CalvertNewbie
Another vote for BWI. I always check prices for all 3 airports and BWI wins out. Used to have to fly to/from Dulles for work a lot. I like everything about BWI better.
 
TPD

TPD

the poor dad
DCA all the way! Security lines are not nearly as long as Dulles and BWI. All other things being equal, I will even pay an extra $25-$40 per ticket for a DCA flight.
 
thurley42

thurley42

HY;FR
QUOTE=desertrat;4706258]From California, it takes me about 90 minutes to BWI. I know the layout so I tend to like it. I make sure to not try to make it there during a rush hour for sure. Plus, if you want an early flight, they have a lot of hotels very close where you may park your car and no charge. Shuttle service in the AM and you are good to go.[/QUOTE]
I don't have that option anymore and it's kind of a sore subject right now lol
 
Bann

Bann

Doris Day meets Lady Gaga
PREMO Member
I like BWI and from Prince Frederick, it's usually only about 1-1.25 hrs. Timed right, I can be in the airport, visit the bathroom & be in line in another 15 minutes.

It's easy in and out, clean & nicely maintained inside & in the parking garage. Since it's the only airport we use, the Things are familiar with the layout, and they are used to knowing where we need to go when we get there.
 
BOP

BOP

Well-Known Member
desertrat said:
From California, it takes me about 90 minutes to BWI. I know the layout so I tend to like it. I make sure to not try to make it there during a rush hour for sure. Plus, if you want an early flight, they have a lot of hotels very close where you may park your car and no charge. Shuttle service in the AM and you are good to go.
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Same here. Much less stress to stay up there overnight, on account of straight-throughs to the west coast tend to be early morning. Or they used to be, anyway.
 
clockaleanie

clockaleanie

New Member
Maybe it depends where you're going, but I always use BWI. No messing with the bridge, nice quiet airport. I always go international from there (as long as they go there) Oh and it's at least 1.5 hours from here to anywhere!
 
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somdforever

Member
You can check with folks who run St. Mary's County airfield and they may be able to put you in touch with one of the local pilots who would be willing to ferry you to one of the larger airports. We did this a few years ago when we wanted to go to Ocean City on a Friday evening and come back on Sunday afternoon. With the price of aviation fuel now, it might be a little expensive.
 
BeenSpur'd

BeenSpur'd

I love her wild,wild hair
BWI over Reagen any day, you don't have to cross the Wilson bridge and deal with all that traffic!
 
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