I need help from frequent flyers

[hinodis]

My DS19 will be joining us on vacation and will be flying alone. He will be in class until 4pm and his drive to the airport will be @ 2 and a half hours. He is flying out on a 7:58pm flight from Detroit on Delta. Will he be pushing it? He will not be checking any luggage.

 

[ccgirl]

My DS19 will be joining us on vacation and will be flying alone. He will be in class until 4pm and his drive to the airport will be @ 2 and a half hours. He is flying out on a 7:58pm flight from Detroit on Delta. Will he be pushing it? He will not be checking any luggage.

I think it is pushing it. That only gets him to the aiport 1.5 hours ahead of the flight. That is if there are no accidents on the way. I have waited in security lines for 45 minutes before. Although, he may make it as well. Personally, I wouldn't chance it.

 

[msp2mco]

He should be okay. Be sure he prints his boarding pass and checks in on-line the night before. Then his only hold-ups are traffic and airport security. Does he have a plan for parking at the airport? I've had some issues with the Big Blue lot, but that was returning to DTW.

 

[hinodis]

He should be okay. Be sure he prints his boarding pass and checks in on-line the night before. Then his only hold-ups are traffic and airport security. Does he have a plan for parking at the airport? I've had some issues with the Big Blue lot, but that was returning to DTW.

He will be stopping at home to have his brother take him to the airport. He will not have to park.

 

[Thumper_Man's Wife]

That may be a close call. It really depends on the airport itself, what day he is flying out, traffic in your city, etc. I live in NM and traffic between 4pm-6pm on any given day is crazy, let alone on Fridays. Airports...some days are better than others. If it is say, in the middle of the week, it may not be as bad as say a Monday or Weekend day. So those all have to factor in as well. Take into consideration also, that gate #'s are not always set in stone, so if the flight has been moved to another gate, he may have to search for that, or if a flight in has been delayed...there are dozens of reasons why the airports ask for passengers to be early.

Granted, I've given only the cons above, there are always possibilities that things could go exceptionally well, traffic is light, lines are easy to breeze through, if there is no other way around it, which I understand with school and all, then to me 1.5 hours is at least better than giving yourself only half an hour.

I know I rambled a little, sorry. I hope that I at least gave you some food for thought.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

My DS19 will be joining us on vacation and will be flying alone. He will be in class until 4pm and his drive to the airport will be @ 2 and a half hours. He is flying out on a 7:58pm flight from Detroit on Delta. Will he be pushing it? He will not be checking any luggage.

I guess the question is whether the time of 2 1/2 hours is the raw driving time on the road, or if it includes all the other things that take time (such as getting from the classroom to the car, making the side trip home, taking care of biological needs, being driven from home to the airport, reasonable consideration of possible traffic delays, etc.)

I would make sure that everything that can be done ahead of time is done, such as having a full tank of gas and not having to do anything at home aside from getting into a different car.

Detroit is a huge airport. The time to pass through security is an unknown variable. Flights start boarding 30 minutes before scheduled departure.

If he's dropped off at the curb 90 minutes before departure, boarding pass in hand and no luggage to check, he'll be fine, even if there's a long line at security.

But if the 90 minutes gets whittled down by 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there, and 20 minutes someplace else, then he could get to the gate too late.

 

[hinodis]

I guess the question is whether the time of 2 1/2 hours is the raw driving time on the road, or if it includes all the other things that take time (such as getting from the classroom to the car, making the side trip home, taking care of biological needs, being driven from home to the airport, reasonable consideration of possible traffic delays, etc.)

I would make sure that everything that can be done ahead of time is done, such as having a full tank of gas and not having to do anything at home aside from getting into a different car.

Detroit is a huge airport. The time to pass through security is an unknown variable. Flights start boarding 30 minutes before scheduled departure.

If he's dropped off at the curb 90 minutes before departure, boarding pass in hand and no luggage to check, he'll be fine, even if there's a long line at security.

But if the 90 minutes gets whittled down by 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there, and 20 minutes someplace else, then he could get to the gate too late.

Driving time from school to airport is 2 hours. I am having his brother meet him at an exit on 75 and sister-in-law will drive DS19's car home. I gave him an extra 1/2 hour allowance. I have not bought the ticket yet. Our other choice is have him fly out friday but he will miss a day of vacation and that only gives him 3 days instead of four.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Driving time from school to airport is 2 hours. I am having his brother meet him at an exit on 75 and sister-in-law will drive DS19's car home. I gave him an extra 1/2 hour allowance. I have not bought the ticket yet. Our other choice is have him fly out friday but he will miss a day of vacation and that only gives him 3 days instead of four.

I would also want to know if he has any options if he does miss his flight. Any later flight that night? Cheap hotels at the airport and an early AM flight? Sleeping in the airport and an early AM flight? -- Suzanne

 

[Nadjalu]

Ok, being from the area I can tell you at that time of day it is a BIG risk.

Depending on the route he is taking from the airport and from where he is coming from....big issues.

So if the route is I-75 to........

I-94 and headed west, HUGE delays at that time of day. Maybe add an extra 1/2 hour for this (more depending on what day of the week and weather)
(the connector from I-75 to I-94 west is a nightmare anywhere from 4:30-6:30pm, it can easily be 20mins to go 100ft)

May I ask where you are coming from and the route? There may be a better way.

As it is I really don't think he will make it, especially if it is a Mon, Thurs or Fri.

 

[ccudmore]

I don't know the area at all, but keep in mind that he'd be travelling right in the middle of rush hour.

If you do decide to do it, make sure he checks in and prints off his boarding pass online that morning and know that when he gets to the airport he can go straight to the security lineup - no need to check-in at the airline counter.

 

[pr surfer]

If he checks in online and is ready to go beforehand, AND if there are no accidents or unexpected traffic, AND (big and) if the brother is on the way, then there's no problem.

Those are three variables, only one of which is in your son's control (online checkin and ready to go). If the other two work out, he'll be a little tight for time, but should make it. If not, he's in trouble.