Question about flying in and out of southern MD

[awpitt]

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.

Actually, Reagan National does has international flights to Bermuda and The Bahamas.

 

[awpitt]

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

From where?

BWI and DCA are much closer to most points in SoMD than IAD.

 

[awpitt]

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.

From my house to DCA is about and hour and ten minutes. I like DCA because everything is close together. Even the economy parking is close. I usually go with whatever airport the cheapest flight leaves out of.

 

[thurley42]

From where?

BWI and DCA are much closer to most points in SoMD than IAD.

I screwed up and meant DCA when I said Dulles..

 

[nobody really]

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.

I agree! I'm in north beach, and i'm always surprised how much extra time i have when i get there.

 

[BernieP]

Choice of airport is more driven by where I'm going (and how inconvienced I want to be) and when I need to be there - oh, and cost.

I freaking hate the drive to Dulles - 495 is all torn up with the HOT lanes project going on and the Dulles access road is torn up with the metro extension. As you might expect the Dulles / 495 interchange is brutal.
But there are more direct flights from Dulles. Dulles is also one huge airport. If you aren't familiar with the layout you can get frustrated getting from the main terminal to / from the gates.

DCA / Reagan National isn't so bad. I prefer to attack it from the north side (DC) and use the GW Parkway off ramp. Though I was suprised recently with road construction by the navy yard - no sure who has more screwed up roads, DC or VA. It's the closest of the three. The upside is the terminal is small enough to get from one end to the other quickly.

BWI is usually easier to get to and in and out of the parking garage. Large airport, lots of people which means security is a choke point at times.
All things considered it's probably the best alternative IF you can get the flights.

There was a time small airports like St. Mary's would run air taxi to larger airports. If it wasn't on the decline before, 9/11 certainly pretty much ended it. It would be really nice if you could catch a general aviation flight out of St. Mary's to some of the smaller airports - which are typically closer to where I need to go.