Buffalo Niagra airport questions

[Letsbgoofy]

My son is flying out of Buffalo on Friday December 10th. His flight is on Southwest mid-day. We're trying to decide what time he needs to be at the airport; there is an ealier flight he wants to take but might have a class at UB that morning. For anyone who is familiar with the airport and/or Southwest:

What is the security line like during the week? We have only flown on Saturdays. I seem to remember renovations going on that effected security and the line, but I can't remember how long ago that was.

What is the SW staff like in Buffalo? Do they kiosks for check in? How long would you say it takes to get checked in with a bag? (he would already have a boarding pass) We flew SW August 2009 from Buffalo and it's like there is a void in my memory about check in.

What would you say is a realistic amount of time he needs to be at the airport before his flight? I know our local airport sticks with the 2 hours, but if you are pre-checked in it takes less than 30 minutes to get your bag checked, through security and to your gate. Not that I would only give myself 30 minutes, but I definitely don't go 2 hours early!

Any information will be appreciated

Does the preferred parking usually fill up? We have only parked in lot A where you have to take a shuttle - just trying to save him time.

 

[Kitts21]

We are flying out of buffalo in Nov. We will let you now how it is. In the past it hasn't been to bad during mid-wek. Usually need to be there about 1hrs. befor departure.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Great, let me know. What day are you flying - during the week? I think I'm going to book him one of the earlier flight - one would give him 75 min. and the other over 90.

 

[coldinerie]

Flew out of BUF in Mar of 2010. As I recall it was uneventful. No big lines, smooth sailing. BUF is somewhat small in comparison to other airports. We parked our car in long term parking and went to check our bags.We flew Delta, but again no lines and security was fine as well. Hope this helps.

 

[focusondisney]

Hi! We are from Buffalo, but only fly about twice a year. The airport is physically small, so easy to navigate. But it is very modern with lots of security lanes. We just flew 2 weeks ago. The remodel is all done but they are installing the new whole body scanners this fall, so I don't know how it will affect things. They are supposed to make the process faster. I don't think security has ever taken us longer than 20 mins or so.

We are neurotic & get to the airport early, usually about 2 hours before flight time. But we fly early (7-8 AM) & want time to grab a quick bite before the flight. I think 75 mins would be OK with carry on only. But if he will have checked luggage, 90 mins would be better. Southwest is great, lots of check in stations. But I find it depends on the travelers in front of me even more than the airline or agent. We always seem to have those large family groups who have half their house packed up & tie the check in agent up for long periods in front of us.

When I say 2 hours early, I include the time to park & get to the check in. We have used the preferred long term & long term A lot. The preferred lot does get very full, especially in the winter. We like the long term A lot. It is about $25 less for a week. And still close enough that we can walk to the terminal if we want . Last 2 times we parked there, took us about 5-7 mins to walk to the terminal. And even if you wait for a shuttle, they come very quickly.

Sorry, I don't know about week days tho. We usually only fly on the weekend.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Thanks for everyone's input. I checked the airport site and they recommend 90 minutes. One flight would give him 75 minutes, the other would be about 95 (once he's already parked). I think I will go with the 95 minutes just to be on the safe side.

The Buffalo airport is quite a bit larger than our local airport - pretty sad right? I will have to check later this fall when the full body scanners come online and see if they up the preflight arrival times - hopefully not.

 

[Disneychix]

I'm here in Buf too. I don't believe SW has the kiosks yet but I"m not sure cause we almost always check our bags outside.
I've probably never been more than 90mins early for a flight and that includes when travelling with a baby. My Dh would think I was crazy if I told him we needed to be there earlier than that.

The parking isn't too bad at BUF. Even if the closer lots fill up the shuttles come around very often. They've even waited for us if they see us taking luggage out of our car. There's online coupons for parking too. Go to the website!

 

[Letsbgoofy]

I hadn't thought about curbside check in - that would save him time too. The shuttle drivers at BUF are great. We've only used the airport twice, but both times I was impressed with how hard they try to help - not something you see often these days. I already printed out a coupon. I remember that from last year, but thanks for the tip anyway

I wonder if there is anywhere on SWs website to see which airport locations have kiosks?

 

[Disneychix]

I can let you know about the kiosks in 4 weeks

You could prob call the airport also.

 

[Letsbgoofy]

Dixiechick,

If you could let me know that would be great. I will try to call the airport, but it's not always easy to get phone numbers that get you real people to talk to.