flying out of baltimore

[mareb66297]

has anyone ever flown out of baltimore? we are flying to wdw on monday, 7:00 a.m. , and wondering how bad you think the airport will be? how early should we get there? we are staying at the hoilday inn right next door, and they are provinding a shuttle service. i'm really worried about long lines... any tips or suggestions would be great. thanks!!!!

 

[melmel]

We always fly out of BWI. In my opinion it's one of the best airports I've been through. We never have to wait long in lines, and the security staff is very fast and efficient. BWI was one of the first test airports when the post 9/11 procedures went into effect, so they are very practiced at doing it right and quickly. We flew last summer over 4th of July weekend and had no problems. Mom always ends up setting off the warnings so we always seem to have our bags searched and we're still usually through in about 15 mins. The longest lines we ever get seem to be at the counter, and even those are usually around 15 to 20 mins. We may always fly at low times of the day, I don't know, but we never seem to have problems. We usually plan to arrive about an hour and a half early just to be safe. Basically I think as long as you plan enough padding you should be fine. We always end up at the gate for about an hour but it's better then worrying we'll miss the flight.

 

[Ilovestitch]

I flew out of BWI two months ago and check in and security went quick, but when we flew last July, we waited over an hour just for security! I would get there a full two hours ahead of time just to be safe. When they make everyone take their shoes off at security, it can really slow down the line. -Stephanie

 

[StephMK]

We've flown quite a few early morning flights from BWI & have never had any trouble. IMO it's a great time of day to fly & the airport is mostly empty. Small lines at security but I'd plan some extra time just to be safe. They do have a BK if you can stand to pay airport prices for breakfast. Beats being stressed & running behind though!

 

[LeslieM]

We always fly out of BWI and the last few trips (WDW and non-WDW) we always seem to be on Southwest. We always allow at least two hours just to be safe...there are three of us and without preassigned seats, I want to be early to get a shot at sitting together. Especially to WDW, there are a ton of people with little ones who get to pre-board and, let's just face it, I'm a worrier ! BWI does a great job with all the security measures and we have found everyone, curbside to gateside, to be efficient and, well, pretty nice. I'd rather be bored than be stressed !

All else always goes smoothly unless you count...should I tell you about..nah, don't want to worry you...well, okay here goes. There was one memorable day spent IN BWI. It was spring break a few years back and there was lots of airport construction going on, so, we decided to take a limo rather than worry about parking. So, we get to the airport at 6:00 AM for an 8:00 AM flight on SW to MCO. When we figure we should be boarding -- no plane. A while later -- no plane. Finally, they announce that due to storms above Orlando, the flight has been delayed. We overheard the gate personnel saying that really the flight was short one co-pilot (sort of an important component of any successful take-off !!). MUCH later, just as we are starting our comped burgers, they announce that the flight is cancelled. Do we rush to get a new flight (like I NOW know you should !) ? N-o-o-o, we finish our burgers and then mosey on down to barely get on the last flight of the day -- if that flight had cancelled, they wouldn't have had availability for the rest of Spring Break ! I cannot believe how stupid I can be !!! Anyway, we rescue our checked luggage so they wouldn't lose it and schlepp it around for the entire day. Many, many hours later (12+ to be exact) we took off - not exactly lunch at MK as planned. And we couldn't leave the airport 'cause we didn't have our car. When our (delayed in air !) plane landed, guess what ? Yep, they lost our luggage ! The MCO guy just said, without looking at our paperwork, "From BWI, right ?" He said they routinely miss getting the luggage on the plane but it always shows up on the next flight. (THAT did NOT reassure me! Or especially DH!!) Our Tiffany driver was great and patient; he let us fill out the paperwork on lost luggage. We finally got to POR around midnight.

I definitely won't bore you about the next AM's sprained ankle, the stolen cell phone, the torrential rain, the police, the... Let's just say we refer to this as the Spring Break Trip From Hell !!

But to get back to BWI: be early; pay attention to what they are announcing; stay IN the boarding area; be nice to the gate people.
You'll do fine -- have a Magical trip !

Leslie

 

[dcfromva]

mareb66297,
We fly out of BWI quite often. We tend to pick peak times (just lucky, I guess).
We always try to get there 2 hours early because we generally fly SWA out of BWI. One time the skycap line extended for a block, and inside the check-in line for SWA extended around the terminal and the security line for "B" gates extended to the extrance of the "C" gates! We didn't have a minute extra by the time we arrived at our gate! (This was June a year ago, the day after school let out ).
Our last flight out of BWI (July 3rd--a week ago, an early afternoon departure), we didn't have many lines to speak of. "B" gates had a moderate line, but we departed out of a "C" gate and we had a very small line getting through security.
Which airline are you flying?

-DC

 

[mareb66297]

thanks for all the advice.. we are staying at a hotel right next to the airport and they are providing a shuttle for us. our flight leaves at 7:00 so i told dh i want to be there by 5:00. like you said i rather be bored then stressed!!! thanks again!!

 

[Suzanne74]

We fly out of BWI quite often. We tend to pick peak times (just lucky, I guess).

What are peak times at BWI - we fly out Friday of Labor Day weekend at 11:30am. I didn't want to hit 8am traffic going on the 10am flight.

Also Southwest - they preboard toddlers w/ carseats and strollers - right? So really I won't have to worry about getting a boarding pass early for together seats. Is this correct?

 

[LeslieM]

Yes, they do preboard toddlers with carseats and strollers (and parents ! LOL) but remember --your flight may not be originating in Baltimore so it can have quite a few already on board. Also, if you think about it, quite a few folks going to MCO have toddlers or babies so there are about a bajillion (official accounting term) other people preboarding. GO EARLY !

On one WDW trip alone with my then 9yoDD, we were the very first in line for regular boarding and I never thought of the above. WOW ! I've never seen so many people going on ahead with small people - I was a basket case worrying about sitting with my child. It all worked out for us but not for all that followed. The funny thing was, with all those little ones, you would never have known there were any children on the plane - they were all great !

Leslie

 

[SRUAlmn]

We flew out of BWI for a cruise from Port Canaveral last summer. Our flight left around 7:30am, I believe, so we left Bel Air slightly before 5:00 so we could get there 2 hours prior to our flight. Let me just say that we got to the plane RIGHT before take off and the only reason we did was because my grandmother was in a wheelchair and we were able to by-pass the majority of the security lines and go through the 'handicapped' ones. Otherwise, I don't know that we would have made it. We also had a connecting flight in Charlotte so it really would've thrown us off. We almost didn't make that either because our plane did have to wait for a couple people who were stuck in security. We literally had to sprint through Charlotte airport- I felt like we were on the Amazing Race with a wheelchair in tow We waited in a 1 hour line to check in, and the line for security was REALLY REALLY long. Great airport, great rates (especially SW,) but from what I have seen it can get very busy. We flew United so I don't know if that made a difference with the check in speed or not. I would just make sure you plan on getting there early. In my mind, it's the lesser of two evils. Getting there too early and having to 'hang out' in an airport terminal for an hour or so, or missing your flight and ruining your vacation. I'd rather hang out at the airport

 

[LeslieM]

SRUAlmn : I'm with you !! GO EARLY !!!

DH and I were tv scanning the other day and caught the "Airline" marathon, which he had never before seen. By the time we had watched maybe 10 minutes, he says "well, I'm sure glad we're driving this time !". This show shows what CAN and DOES go wrong on SW. I do think though, that many times the passenger is in the wrong i.e. left the boarding area or really late or without id. I'm watching, purely for educational purposes you understand, for tips on what NOT to do on Southwest ! (and, boy, I've sure learned a LOT !)

Leslie

 

[SRUAlmn]

We also decided to drive this time instead due to the aiport hassles we've experienced. DBF is not thrilled about 15 hours on the road, but I feel better knowing we have a little more control of our schedule and that my wheels are on the ground Not a big fan of flying to begin with. We spent the first night of our cruise with stomach aches and sleeping because we had been going (and I mean going- RUNNING) and standing in line after line after line since 4:00am and by the time the boat left it was probably around 4:00-5:00pm? I don't want to waste my first day being exhausted. So we are going to drive 12 hours, stay over night and then drive 3 hours the day of our arrival. We'll see how it works

 

[dcfromva]

Originally posted by Suzanne74
What are peak times at BWI?

It generally seems to be whenever we pick to fly
We try to take trips around DS's school vacation. So, it is generally a Friday or Saturday before a 3 or 4 day break or right after school lets out or Spring Break or during the Christmas holidays... There have been very few flights that we have taken that have not been completely full. While the lines for security were not too bad on our July 3rd trip to Albany, the flight was completely full and after everyone got on board, there were two people who did not have seats (it kind of reminded me of musical chairs). The flight attendant had to go around and find the lap babies in order to get those last two folks seated.

Also Southwest - they preboard toddlers w/ carseats and strollers - right? So really I won't have to worry about getting a boarding pass early for together seats. Is this correct?

LeslieM makes a very good point about the continuing flights as well as the pre-boards... For our Spring Break trip to Orlando (Apr 4-8), I didn't do the on-line check in, so we had "B" boarding group cards by the time we arrived at the airport. It looked like there were the normal number of people in the "A" group. About 1/2 that number in the "B" group and a handful of people in the "C" group. In the pre-board line, it looked like the combined total of the A, B and C groups....
We took a flight to Kansas City last Columbus Day weekend leaving on a Friday afternoon. Where the drive to the airport normally takes us just over and hour, it took us over 2hours. We had "C" boarding cards when we arrived at the airport. The flight was a continuing flight, so there were already lots of folks on board. By the time we got on board, there were only "C"enter seats left for the 3 of us.
-DC

 

[LeslieM]

Originally posted by dcfromva
It generally seems to be whenever we pick to fly

ROTFL !!! Exactly !

Leslie