layover in chicago denver or washington?

[ado121]

we are flying from mco to seattle on dec 27th. we hve a choice of layover cities of chicago denver or washington? hystorically, whats the best city to have a layover in? all the lfight times and layover times seem about the same. we are just worried about snow. wind. fog.

cheers!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Washington, but do you really need to decide right now? You can't even buy the tickets yet. You should also be prepared, no matter which itinerary you choose, for a number of schedule changes over the ensuing eleven months.

 

[ado121]

Washington, but do you really need to decide right now? You can't even buy the tickets yet. You should also be prepared, no matter which itinerary you choose, for a number of schedule changes over the ensuing eleven months.

continental releases their flights early compared to everyone else, i guess. i checked this morning and its $128 per person. thats very good! i bought sea to mco tickets from delta on dec 11th for $94. for 6 of us, its about the $ and not about the schedule. works out to $1440 for all of us. thats great!

 

[dudspizza]

Washington, but do you really need to decide right now? You can't even buy the tickets yet. You should also be prepared, no matter which itinerary you choose, for a number of schedule changes over the ensuing eleven months.

Looks like Continental has flights for sale thru 12/28.

OP, I honestly don't think it makes a ton of difference. I guess Washington is the most south, but it is also a bit more flying time since you go straight north, then west.

I personally like Denver airport and ORD is nice too, but both have the chance of snow. Honestly, anywhere in the upper part of the US has a chance of snow.

I would route through Denver myself, but I know many who would not want to route through DEN or ORD in the dead of winter.... I am a risk taker and am willing to take that chance...

Duds

 

[ado121]

Looks like Continental has flights for sale thru 12/28.

OP, I honestly don't think it makes a ton of difference. I guess Washington is the most south, but it is also a bit more flying time since you go straight north, then west.

I personally like Denver airport and ORD is nice too, but both have the chance of snow. Honestly, anywhere in the upper part of the US has a chance of snow.

I would route through Denver myself, but I know many who would not want to route through DEN or ORD in the dead of winter.... I am a risk taker and am willing to take that chance...

Duds

thanks Duds and kay for your replies. i am going to base it on departure time. we aren't morning people and there is a flight at 11ish that looks good for us. we don't mind long layovers. 4 small kids who will want to run around the airport. so its all good. and my husband is a big coffee drinker but not on planes. in airports only! i went to buy the flights and there is a problem with the united airlines site so continental can't sell the seats yet. its cool. i can wait....i got time ... but yeah me...$1400 for 6 flights from seattle to orlando at christmas....

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Isn't there a Continental flight, CO6691, operated by United (United 260), that goes to Dulles (IAD),keeps the flight number but changes gates and airplanes, that might fit the needs?

 

[NotUrsula]

That would depend on why you're asking, and in the case of DC, which airport.

If you were speaking of getting out of the airport during a long layover, Denver would be bad. It's WAY the heck away from the city, very isolated. In DC, getting out for awhile is easy if you are at National, but not easy at all at Dulles. For that scenario, ORD would be your best bet.

If you are asking in terms of which one is least likely to have significant weather delays, my answer would be Denver. It does snow a lot, but the airport is new and was designed to handle it, so there are fewer winter weather delays there than at ORD or IAD. O'Hare can be bad in winter weather because of its age and the sheer volume of flights that it handles. (It can be bad in summer, too -- thunderstorms and tornado activity in the midwest can cause a ripple effect that means major delays at ORD.)

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I assume your layover choices are Denver International, Chicago-Ohare, or Washington-Dulles.

Any of these airports can get clobbered by weather. Chicago-Ohare is probably the most vulnerable. Because it operates near capacity, even moderate slow-downs due to ordinary snow storms can cause serious delays and cancellations. On the other hand, they have an incredible capacity to deal with snow and keep runways open and aircraft de-iced.

I really don't think that leaving the airport for sightseeing if there are serious weather delays is a consideration. You normally need to stick around the airport as the airline tries to accommodate you. There are no lockers for carry-ons these day, so we would have to hang on to them.

I'm still partial to Chicago-Ohare because I know the airport like the back of my hand. There are a number of surprisingly good places to eat.

All that said, I would recommend basing your decision primarily on which flight schedule works best for you and secondarily on the aircraft type.

 

[*Seanaci*]

From MCO TO Seattle...or Seattle TO MCO? I'm confused...either way, you'd have a layover IN Washington state? Seems a little...odd to me...but whatever.

Anywho!

Personally, I'd go Denver. But, that's just me...as I know our weather here can be quite lovely (Seriously, last year in December, we saw dustings of snow days...not enough to warrent a good measuring total...and our highs were in the 60s)...and you'd be less likely to get stuck here than in Chicago. Plus, the concourses are nice and large...with the room for kiddos to run around a bit.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

From MCO TO Seattle...or Seattle TO MCO? I'm confused...either way, you'd have a layover IN Washington state? Seems a little...odd to me...but whatever.

Anywho!

Personally, I'd go Denver. But, that's just me...as I know our weather here can be quite lovely (Seriously, last year in December, we saw dustings of snow days...not enough to warrent a good measuring total...and our highs were in the 60s)...and you'd be less likely to get stuck here than in Chicago. Plus, the concourses are nice and large...with the room for kiddos to run around a bit.

I believe the one of the anticipated layovers/stops could be Washington, DC-Dulles airport. I may be mistaken though.

 

[akcire]

I am in Chicago, and generally tell people to avoid "Camp O'hare" if possible. (However in United's Terminal 1 Concourse C there is a nice sandwich place/bar, the Bergoff. They sell their own beer and root-beer. Even better than that is the hot roast beef sandwich.)

Denver may still have a Chic Fil A in their airport (which is awesome--as long as you are not traveling on a Sunday). Nothing gets me in a Florida kind of mood faster than a Chicken sandwich and fresh made lemonade. Denver's airport is like a mall, lots of shops and food court. They also have a local Stephanie's chocolate that is very good (but I believe it is outside of security).

I would think Washington would be the least able to deal with severe weather. Winter in Chicago and Denver pretty much make heavy snow a sure thing. The big snows do occasionally shut down the DC area.

I would also consider your route times. Denver is probably the most direct route.

Clearly I have spent too much of my life in airports.