Tell me about Jetblue & DCA

[c.w.e.m.]

Looking at a June trip - Jetblue out of DCA is really looking good. However, never flown out of DCA before, always BWI or ORF. Reviews of Terminal "A" at DCA are not painting a pretty picture. So, with that said...

Midweek early-morning (7 AM-ish) How bad / long is security?

What is best parking option? Is it relatively easy to unload at departure area of terminal & take car to long term lot & return via shuttle? Allow how much time from long term lot back to terminal?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

TIA!

 

[grimley1968]

I haven't flown into or out of DCA in years, but I know their parking situation is cramped, but do-able. The offloading, parking and shuttles work as at other airports. The security there is obviously stringent, but it always was and I don't think at this point it's any worse than any other airport.

Keep in mind there is a Metro stop at DCA, if you don't have too much luggage to carry. This could allow you to park elsewhere if you'd prefer, and then ride to DCA. It's on the Blue and Yellow lines.

 

[mikehn]

The worst part of DCA is driving into DC in the morning during the midweek. That is not going to be pretty from the eastern shore. The airport itself isnt all that bad to manuver.

 

[grimley1968]

Just did a refresher search on the Metro map. There are lots of park and ride spots at the outlying Maryland Metro stops. OP could drive there, park there for the duration of the trip (it's very cheap or even free in some locations), ride the Metro to DCA (avoiding the worst of the morning rush). Carrying a lot of luggage wouldn't be fun this way, but if it's wheeled it's about the same as hauling it through an airport.

 

[Anal Annie]

It's been YEARS since we've used DCA - although we can get to a metro fairly easily I wouldn't leave my car over night in a metro lot or garage. I don't think the security is all that great. I'd maybe get someone to drop us off or something....but we also carry too much luggage to navigate the metro comfortably in rush hour. I don't think parking is all that good at DCA. How about using a shuttle service like Super Shuttle or something? How far out do you live? Would that work? Although DCA is the same amount of travel time as BWI or Dulles I never use it because of getting there...I prefer BWI because the Fast Park lot parking is efficient and cheaper than Dulles but sometimes the flights there are cheap enough to be worth the difference. Another thought might be to get a hotel room for the night near the airport - they usually have "park and fly" options where you could leave your car in their lot. We have done that with Dulles a few times...

 

[nordkin]

Coming from the eastern shore I think I would spend the night at one of the hotels in Crystal City that allows you to park your car in their garage for a week for free with a nights stay. They all have frequent shuttles to and from the airport.

Terminal A is not bad, but there is not food available in the terminal. If you decide to use long term parking, you can drop off passengers and luggage and then park. I would allow 30 minutes or so for this.

We prefer to fly out of DCA over Dulles and BWI because the airport is much easier to manuver. Lots of people are under the misconception that you have to go through DC to get to the airport when the airport is actually just outside Alexandria,VA in Arlington County VA.

 

[jsilvers]

Terminal A is not bad, but there is not food available in the terminal.

Huh? The choices in Terminal A may not be exciting, but food certainly is available. There is a small Sam Adams Brewhouse and an Einstein Brothers bagels pre-security, and several quick-serve options post-security such as Euro Cafe and Fabulously Fresh.

 

[jsilvers]

Is it relatively easy to unload at departure area of terminal & take car to long term lot & return via shuttle?

Keep in mind that at Terminal A, the drop-off area is not directly in front of the terminal entrance - there is a inner lane for taxis/buses. There are marked crosswalks, etc., but it does make it harder to deal with baggage/children/etc. Also, Terminal A is a single-level facility, so drop-off and pick-up is in the same location, which can be chaotic.

Second, to get to economy parking from Terminal A will require a full circuit of the airport - past terminals B and C, around the back sides of the garages, and past the row of hangars. Not necessarily a big deal if you're already familiar with the airport, but potentially unappealing if you're not. There's map of the airport road system at http://www.metwashairports.com/image/dca_parking_map.jpg.

 

[n2mm]

We flew out of Reagan in August on Jetblue (since they left Dulles) and we have flown into Reagan from MCO twice (Aug/Oct). We are not fans at all. We suck it up because we fly to MCO about 4 times a year. We miss Jetblue out of Dulles badly. We are leaving in two weeks (Jan. 23) and still don't know what our plan is. We live in WV so it was a 1 hour drive to Dulles. Now we have to allow 2+ to get to Reagan. In August we had a relative drive us to Shady Grove Metro (1 hour during late rush hour 9ish) and then a 1 hour trip on Metro. It wasn't too bad since I grew up on Metro and we had small carryon rolling bags. Reagan was fine, security low and quick. The terminal was small and no seating available. There was a few food choices, nothing to write home about, but we didn't starve. The flew into Reagan twice and grabbed a rental car and drove ourselves home and dropped off the rental car the next day to Dulles....a timely process (1 hour drive up/1 hour drive back/tolls for the greenway both ways). Doing our research we did notice the parking at DCA was slim and much more than Dulles and BWI. I think long term was $12 a day. For our trip in 2 weeks we either are going to do the Metro thing again or have our SIL drop us off at Dulles early morning and pick up a rental and drive ourselves to Reagan. Keep in mind that we can no longer do the early flights to MCO. We are now doing the 1PM or later flight because you can never judge how the traffic will be during the weekdays. We are not newbies when it comes to driving into the DC area. Both my DH and I did it for 30 years before retiring from the USG. We do miss the days when we would book the 7AM flight out of Dulles and had no problem getting my SIL to drive us there before going to work in Leesburg.

 

[Anal Annie]

We flew out of Reagan in August on Jetblue (since they left Dulles) and we have flown into Reagan from MCO twice (Aug/Oct). We are not fans at all. We suck it up because we fly to MCO about 4 times a year. We miss Jetblue out of Dulles badly. We are leaving in two weeks (Jan. 23) and still don't know what our plan is. We live in WV so it was a 1 hour drive to Dulles. Now we have to allow 2+ to get to Reagan. In August we had a relative drive us to Shady Grove Metro (1 hour during late rush hour 9ish) and then a 1 hour trip on Metro. It wasn't too bad since I grew up on Metro and we had small carryon rolling bags. Reagan was fine, security low and quick. The terminal was small and no seating available. There was a few food choices, nothing to write home about, but we didn't starve. The flew into Reagan twice and grabbed a rental car and drove ourselves home and dropped off the rental car the next day to Dulles....a timely process (1 hour drive up/1 hour drive back/tolls for the greenway both ways). Doing our research we did notice the parking at DCA was slim and much more than Dulles and BWI. I think long term was $12 a day. For our trip in 2 weeks we either are going to do the Metro thing again or have our SIL drop us off at Dulles early morning and pick up a rental and drive ourselves to Reagan. Keep in mind that we can no longer do the early flights to MCO. We are now doing the 1PM or later flight because you can never judge how the traffic will be during the weekdays. We are not newbies when it comes to driving into the DC area. Both my DH and I did it for 30 years before retiring from the USG. We do miss the days when we would book the 7AM flight out of Dulles and had no problem getting my SIL to drive us there before going to work in Leesburg.

You scared me for a minute when you said Jet Blue left Dulles!! They still fly out of Dulles (I've been pricing flights to CA) but I still had to go double check when you said that. They still fly to Orlando but you have to go thru Boston to do it. Is that not just as easy as using DCA? I mean, obviously, a direct flight would always be the preferred way to go...but if you want to use JB you could save some of that commute aggravation by just taking the connecting flights. In the end the time you add it all up it is probably about the same trip duration if it takes you so much longer to get to DCA.

 

[25eels]

We much prefer DCA to IAD -- there's a large central lot that always has plenty of space and the remote lots are well-run. No long walks or tram rides to the terminals, either. The JetBlue terminal is the original DCA terminal so it feels small and kind of retro -- you can pretend to be a 1960s congressman or Watergate reporter! -- but there are plenty of food options, just not the mall-type shopping available in the newer DCA terminal.

 

[n2mm]

You scared me for a minute when you said Jet Blue left Dulles!! They still fly out of Dulles (I've been pricing flights to CA) but I still had to go double check when you said that. They still fly to Orlando but you have to go thru Boston to do it. Is that not just as easy as using DCA? I mean, obviously, a direct flight would always be the preferred way to go...but if you want to use JB you could save some of that commute aggravation by just taking the connecting flights. In the end the time you add it all up it is probably about the same trip duration if it takes you so much longer to get to DCA.

Sorry, I forget there are other travel destinations....I should say that Jetblue no longer flys nonstop to Florida out of Dulles anymore. Flying a connecting in the opposite direction just is not right. Yes, we weighed the options of schleping to Reagan for a 2 hour nonstop flight vs flying north first to fly south out of Dulles and turning that flight into an all day event and doubling (even tripling) the price. We do check BWI before buying as that is always an option, but those low SW fares seem to be a thing of the past now. We will get to DCA somehow in 2 weeks, but we sure do miss those non-stop flights to Florida out of Dulles. In October we flew United out of Dulles to MCO and home into DCA Jetblue and rented a car to drive ourselves home as it was a late flight (we got a decent price on United $80 + $25). But Jetblue has spoiled us that it was hard to go back and fly them again. I'm glad we have options and it helps to think outside the box.

 

[nordkin]

Huh? The choices in Terminal A may not be exciting, but food certainly is available. There is a small Sam Adams Brewhouse and an Einstein Brothers bagels pre-security, and several quick-serve options post-security such as Euro Cafe and Fabulously Fresh.

I stand corrected. When I said no food available, I meant not as many choices as the main terminal.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

For the OP...just to clarify a few things: please note that many of the complaints about DCA are about location and distance. Well a bad location/far distance depends on where you are coming from....DCA is a great location/very convenient for many (its on a subway line!).

One negative I agree with is the seating area...it's old-fashioned

and not too big, limited food and retail. But there are most certainly seats.

But I generally think the positives of DCA considerably outweigh the positives at Dulles. Like security is usually much easier to manage at DCA. JetBlue has dedicated check-in and baggage claim area...I had some miserable times at Dulles navigating through hordes of people waiting to check-in with other airlines. And no shuttles, elevators, mobile lounges, escalators, or underground trams to get you from the terminal entry door to the airplane door...its all on one level.

 

[Anal Annie]

Sorry, I forget there are other travel destinations....I should say that Jetblue no longer flys nonstop to Florida out of Dulles anymore. Flying a connecting in the opposite direction just is not right. Yes, we weighed the options of schleping to Reagan for a 2 hour nonstop flight vs flying north first to fly south out of Dulles and turning that flight into an all day event and doubling (even tripling) the price. We do check BWI before buying as that is always an option, but those low SW fares seem to be a thing of the past now. We will get to DCA somehow in 2 weeks, but we sure do miss those non-stop flights to Florida out of Dulles. In October we flew United out of Dulles to MCO and home into DCA Jetblue and rented a car to drive ourselves home as it was a late flight (we got a decent price on United $80 + $25). But Jetblue has spoiled us that it was hard to go back and fly them again. I'm glad we have options and it helps to think outside the box.

Ever since SW announced they were taking over AT there have been NO deals out of BWI. There just isn't any competition any more. We had been using a combination of SW, AT or JB for several years and last summer I ended up booking us on United to FL for the first time in years. It was horrid. Couldn't remember ever being so cramped up before. Now I am pricing flights to CA and United is the cheapest and I think it's the same type of plane we were on to FL. I just haven't been able to convince myself to pull the trigger on them. SW has only released our outbound date so far - IF / WHEN they release the return date and it's anywhere close in price they will be $113 more than United - but then if I add on the baggage fees for United that will be reduced to $63. Oh, but then I have to add $10 pp ea. way for that stupid early check-in thing they do so we can be guaranteed a better boarding number...then that makes SW $83 more pp. Considering that the CA flight is 5 hours vs 2 hours and how uncomfortable we'll be it may be worth it. I haven't decided yet if SW is the better option for $250 more (for all of us). Anyway, I feel your pain... JB also goes thru Boston to go to LAX so I know that frustration in that choice...it would turn a 5 hr flight into over 7 hrs. To go direct we'd have to go to Long Beach. But their prices are well over $600 rt so at this point JB is not an option for that much. Long Beach is an OK choice GOING but not coming home because we're actually coming from Hawaii then and so we need to go into LAX. It's all tooooooo complicated.