BWI or IAD to MCO?

[tn4mickey]

DH and I are moving to Maryland next week and I'm wondering which airport everyone prefers, Baltimore or Dulles. We flew into BWI on our house hunting trip and will be flying into IAD next week. The fares for Oct are about the same (around $200) compairing nonstop flights. Is there a big difference in parking cost?
TIA

 

[bavaria]

When I'm in the area, I use IAD, but I am a very frequent United flier. I suppose that the SW fans will vote for BWI, the United fans for IAD...

Sorry, can't comment on parking costs.

 

[luvdisney999]

We prefer to fly out of Baltimore - even drive down from PA to do it, since it's better than the Philly airport.

LOVE Southwest airlines! You can get the BEST deals from them! I know it's not the norm, but I got a r/t price of $100 for our May trip with their DING promo!!!

Consider Southwest - they're a great airline! And consider BWI for an airport!

 

[suevee]

BWI but then we fly SW!!!

 

[dcfromva]

tn4mickey,
Between the two, I prefer IAD because it is closer, but we often fly out of BWI because we can get better fares. (Actually, DCA is closer for us, but we rarely find the best deals out of DCA).

If you go by parking alone, I prefer BWI. We use Pre-flight parking. With a coupon, it is 7.00 per day (7th day is free) I like Pre-flight because you can get an advance reservation if you prefer (which is nice around a holiday weekend like Thanksgiving), they direct you to a parking spot when you arrive and a shuttle van comes right over to your parking spot to pick you up and drop you off. The driver will also help you with your bags.

At IAD, Long term parking is $9.00 per day, you have to ride a shuttle which makes stops at designated places. It takes longer to get to the terminal building.

If you go by the convenience of the passenger terminal, I would have to pick BWI. At IAD you have to take the passenger lounge shuttles from the main terminal to your departure terminal. For this you must add a little extra time. At BWI, we used to be treated to long security lines every trip we took, but since the new SWA terminal opened about a year or so ago we just haven't seen the long lines like we did in the past. (Maybe it is the new terminal or, maybe we have gotten better at scheduling our trips at less than peak times )

-DC

 

[PlutoPony]

We fly out of Dulles and rarely even price BWI or National, the main reason being TRAFFIC!!! We live about 30 minutes from IAD and the time to get to the airport is fairly predictable for us, even duriing rush hour. Driving to BWI is much more of a crapshoot given where we live - we have to go on I-66, Beltway, AND I-95 each one of which can be it's own nightmare . You probably can't appreciate the traffic situation in this area until you've lived here . So I'd try to use whichever airport is most convenient to where you live. BTW, SW is going to begin offering flights from IAD this fall (don't know destinations yet) so we're hopeful this puts some downward pressure on airfares from here, much like FlyI did...
Hope you enjoy living here!

 

[ducklite]

I don't fly United and seldom fly SW, but I'd choose BWI over either of the other two DC area airports. I'd rather be dragged through broken glass than fly into IAD or DCA. In fact they rank right up there with DET and LGA in my book of horrible airports.

Anne

 

[Mermaid4me]

I have lived in MD for 36 years- my entire life. I don't like Dulles for the traffic. Going into VA on 495 is usually bad especially if they are doing construction which is most of the time. Also, it depends where you live too. We live a little closer to BWI and we go the back way. Hope this helps!


Mermaid4me

Poly Apr 06
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[Luckymommyx2]

Another vote for BWI. We always fly SWA and find the best prices through them. It's not a huge airport and recently went through some nice renovations. Another parking aread to try is Econopark Express. It's less than a year old and we've used them 3 times. It's $5.75 (with $1 off on-line coupon) and they have shuttles every five minutes. Usually they just follow you to your car and pick you up. For the amount of trips we take, the savings really add up. Good luck and welcome to Maryland!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

About 12 years ago, BWI used to be a fabulous airport - never crowded and plenty of parking. Now it's a zoo. I avoid it whenever possible.

 

[disneyfor3]

Another vote for BWI. I also like Econopark Express for leaving the car. If you preferred a covered parking garage BWI also has a daily parking garage which is running a $8.00 a day special right now and you can print the coupon from the bwiairport site.

If you need any advice on neighborhoods, I would be happy to help. I have lived here most of my life and my husband was born here. We love the area we live in near Annapolis (Severna Park and Arnold area north of Annapolis); great schools and centrally located to DC (45 minutes), Baltimore (30 minutes) and Annapolis (10 minute). There are lots of parks and nice rivers and bays to go boating.

 

[klmall]

We have been living near I-270 (Gaithersburg) for 30+ years and use both airports.

Depending upon the time of day Dulles (IAD) is much faster for us. BWI is great for Southwest but they've just put in a bid for two gates at IAD so we're hoping they'll expand to Dulles and give everybody competition.

Dulles is great if you avoid the worst rush hours and we can be there in 35 - 40 minutes (non-rush hour) and we like their long-term parking better unless we're staying for more than 7 days. And I agree with the quick shuttle bus pick-up to/from the terminal. But there is really only 1 way for us to get there other than going through DC though!

BWI is good for Southwest currently (especially their new terminal!) and if you like traveling back roads from the Gaithersburg area and takes us about 60 minutes on a good day. But we have many routes we can use if there are traffic problems. There are many outlying long-term parking lots (some with discounts on the internet) and hotels with free-long term parking deals.

FYI - We hate Reagan Airport in DC and will not fly out of it for many reasons especially the parking limitations at holidays and safety issues. After John Wayne Airport in California it has been voted the second most hated airport to land at by pilots.

 

[bavaria]

I don't fly United and seldom fly SW, but I'd choose BWI over either of the other two DC area airports. I'd rather be dragged through broken glass than fly into IAD or DCA. In fact they rank right up there with DET and LGA in my book of horrible airports.

Anne

the lines for security at IAD are actually LONGER than MCO sometimes. On a recent flight out, I had the pleasure of witnessing a fist fight in the United special services line, a female passenger winning a pair of silver handcuffs from the police for cutting in line and her subsequent behaviour, and a security line of 55+ minutes...

But still, it comes down to fares, airlines, and traffic.

And for those who have never landed at DCA, I am thankful that on my first flight into DCA years ago the pilot warned us of the 'unusual' landing path around the monuments. A colleague's husband is an air traffic controller and they use DCA as simulation because it has such an odd landing path.

FWIW, when I go to work in MD, I still usually fly into IAD because of my United flights.

 

[bavaria]

If you go by the convenience of the passenger terminal, I would have to pick BWI. At IAD you have to take the passenger lounge shuttles from the main terminal to your departure terminal. For this you must add a little extra time. At BWI, we used to be treated to long security lines every trip we took, but since the new SWA terminal opened about a year or so ago we just haven't seen the long lines like we did in the past. (Maybe it is the new terminal or, maybe we have gotten better at scheduling our trips at less than peak times )

-DC

Those 'temporary' passenger 'lounges' at IAD should be gone once construction is complete (maybe in 2039??? )

I once saw the mayor of Baltimore at BWI, apologizing to the public in front of news cameras for the long security lines.

 

[PlutoPony]

The walkway to Terminal B at Dulles is complete now as you probably know, so you can get to A and B without riding the "mobile lounges" (talk about a euphemism). I think the extension to Terminal C is contingent on the new terminal C/D being constructed, who knows when. The real embarrassment to me is Terminal G, otherwise known as the bus terminal. I hear United it looking at replacing it but have no idea of timing, but it can't be soon enough! We've also found LT parking to be easy, and have never had to wait more than a few minutes for a bus to the main terminal.

 

[tn4mickey]

Thanks for all the tips! We're moving to Hagerstown and DH will be working in Frederick. Now I need to start checking the fares for our Oct. WDW Food and Wine Fest./ DVC Member Cruise trip!! Woohoo!

 

[PlutoPony]

From Hagerstown/Frederick, I'm betting Dulles is easier to get to... Cross the Potomac on 15, swing around Leesburg and take the Dulles Tollway right in. Good that you're moving that far west of DC as housing prices should be much more reasonable! Hope your move goes well and you like living in the area

 

[Spoodleink]

For me its IAD but mainly because I live right off the Rt 28 exit on the toll road so I am about 5 mins away so most of the price differences are just not worth the extra travel time to me. But if I live more in-between the 2 it might be worth it to go to BWI.

 

[goofyforlife]

We live in Frederick....

IAD is a couple miles closer (as the crow flies) however Rt 15 to get over to VA is only one lane each way in places (if there's an accident, they call in life-flight and it could be awhile.)

So we usually go across 70 over to BWI ...love SWA (new terminal) and we've used the Econopark Express parking lot too and had awesome service.

However, my DH used to have to fly alot (and I mean like twice a week) and he flew out of all three airports. I think he liked BWI the best.

 

[Kitterleen]

BWI is closest for us and SW has great ding fares....got tix to MCO for $68 roundtrip for May departure
Also looking at an Oct. trip...waiting for those ding fares to be released!!